Author: Western Horse Watchers

BLM to Remove Burros Near Lake Havasu City

It’s on the July 31 schedule in the emergency/nuisance section and operations will begin this week according to today’s news release.

The capture and removal goals are 100 each.

Excess animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Florence.

They are likely associated with the Havasu HMA.

The incident is not open to public observation.

The agency is developing a new management plan for the HMA and two others, known as the Three Rivers Complex.

UPDATE: The original gather page has been replaced by this one.

Lake Havasu City 08-05-24

Virginia Range Darting Update for July 2024

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, a leader in nonmotorized removal, reported today that 112 mares received 112 doses of PZP during the month, 17 given as primers and 95 as boosters.

Over the life of the program, which began in 2019, the advocates have pumped 9,626 doses of the pesticide into 2,049 mares, for an average of 4.7 doses per mare.

Since the beginning of the year, 143 foals have been born and 34 died.

The current population is thought to be 3,548, with 311 horses listed as missing, compared to 3,521 with 302 horses listed as missing in June.

The population was 3,502 with 310 horses listed as missing in May and 3,519 with 370 listed as missing in April.

The Year 6 agreement with NDA has not been posted to the darting resources page.

The Year 5 summary has not been posted to the monthly reports page.

A goal for August is to maximize booster treatments so the herd will continue to shrink and to train newly certified darters with experienced team members.

Protecting Them From Removal 12-03-23

Not discussed:

  • Long-term population goal
  • Number of viable mares
  • Size of breeding population
  • Loss of genetic diversity
  • Changes in death rate and sex ratio
  • Unlawful use of pesticides

The report will be submitted to the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

RELATED: Virginia Range Darting Update for June 2024.

Adjectives for Pests 12-01-23

Debby to Drench Banker Horses?

The 8 AM advisory takes the center of the storm into northern Florida where it will stall, bringing double-digit rainfall to some areas.

The Paynes Prairie horses near Gainesville will likely be affected along with the herds at Cumberland Island, Shackleford Banks and Corolla.

Assateague Island is not in the cone but that could change if the storm moves farther up the coast later in the week.

Debby 8 AM Advisory 08-04-24

HR 3656: Windfall for Advocates, Bad for Wild Horses

As the Democrat Party becomes more radical, anti-God, anti-life and anti-family, so do the wild horse advocates.

It’s almost as if they’re joined at the hip.

In their transition to full-time pleaders for the public-lands ranchers, they’ve abandoned any pretense of caring for the horses and now peddle mass sterilization as a practical alternative to helicopter roundups.

Their demonstration projects at the Salt River and Virginia Range are not designed to slow population growth but to reverse it.

This can only be accomplished by extensive use of the pesticide, which will result in sterilization of the mares and irreversible decline of the herds.

If signed into law, the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023 would ban helicopter roundups and increase demand for alternative methods because it does not change the resource allocations and management priorities that drive the removals.

The advocates would be waiting in the wings to spread the serpent’s venom across the fruited plain, with the ranchers coming out on top in the long run.

Imagine Congress passing a bill that puts your competitors out of business and gives you monopoly control of the industry.

That’s HR 3656.

RELATED: Advocates Double Down on Zonastat Lies.

Court Says Alpine Horse Auction Can Proceed

A federal judge lifted a temporary restraining order today, allowing the sale of 13 wild horses from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, according to a report by Courthouse News Service.

Advocates with the Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group said the Forest Service is shipping the animals to kill pens in Texas.

RELATED: Salt River Advocates Trying to Block Alpine Horse Removal?

Sand Wash Bait Trap Removal Set for Mid-August

It’s not on the June 3 schedule but will begin on or after August 12 according to today’s announcement.

The capture goal is 60.  The removal goal was not specified.

The pre-gather population is 409.

Operations will probably not be open to public observation but this is not discussed in the news release.

The destination of captured animals was not given.

A link to the gather stats and daily reports was not provided.

The HMA, located in northwestern Colorado, is subject to permitted grazing.

The permanent trap site is a constant reminder that the horses are not a priority.

The incident will likely raise a few more eyebrows in the state legislature, whose members are already annoyed by the prospects of a roundup at Little Book Cliffs.

UPDATE: It’s on the July 31 schedule.

Sand Wash Basin HMA with Allotments 08-02-24

Bales Getting Smaller?

A few years ago twenty bales would fit in the bed of the truck with no room to spare.

But lately there’s space for sacks of grain as shown in the following photo.

Another example of shrinkflation?

They may be getting smaller but they were heavy and the flakes were dense.

Maybe the grower has increased the compaction of his baling machine.

The price on July 31 was $30 per bale, 20 bales minimum, compared to $19 three years ago.

That puts the cost of feed at $150 per AUM assuming five bales per month per horse.

Forage on public lands in the western U.S. sells for $1.35 per AUM.

Now do you see why more and more wild horses are being forced into taxpayer-funded feedlots as more and more livestock occupy their lawful homes?

RELATED: Price of Hay Eases Slightly?

Bales Getting Smaller 07-31-24

Currituck Advocates Announce Birth of New Colt

He has everything he needs to grow up into a stallion who will one day produce foals of his own according to the herd manager and author of an article in OBX Today.

The statement is subject to the test of future experience.

The darting program has been shut off for two years but we still don’t know the number of viable mares and if genetic diversity has been compromised.

The announcement follows the death last week of a stallion who was struck by a vehicle.

Wild Horses Clash with Klamath Dam Removal Project

Demolition is almost complete.  The reservoirs are gone and the river has returned to its original channel, exposing 2,200 acres of formerly submerged lands.

A last step in the process is to replant the basins with seeds, shrubs and trees, according to a story by the San Fransisco Chronicle, which has attracted the horses.

The herd has received national attention in recent years as the Wild Horse Fire Brigade.

Their sponsor says they’re benefiting the landscape, not hurting it.

Others disagree, claiming they don’t benefit the region.

The county has an open range policy, meaning the owners of the property must install fencing to keep the animals out.

It’s not clear if that was in the original project scope and if it will force the herd to find a new source of water.

Foal-Free Friday, Childless Cat Ladies Edition

They may not run the Democrat Party but it certainly has its share of them.

Same for the wild horse world.

Can you think of a better demographic from which to recruit and train PZP darters?

  • Female
  • Liberal
  • Innumerate
  • Depressed
  • Specializes in meals for one
  • Rejects families and the natural order

Leading the way is the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses and its army of nitwits.

CAAWH Membership Card Exposed 01-01-24

Allegations of abuse at the Blue Wing Complex may encourage more cat ladies to come out of the closet and become foot soldiers for CAAWH.

They’re a miserable lot, working alongside the legacy contractors to help the bureaucrats achieve their goal of ranching superiority in the lawful homes of wild horses.

RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Plausible Deniability Edition.

Pesticide Patrol 08-16-23

Blue Wing Roundup Over

The incident concluded today with 1.305 horses captured, 1,268 shipped, three released and 34 dead.

There were no unaccounted-for animals.

The capture and removal goals were 1,373 and 1,333, respectively.

The death rate was 2.6%.

The average daily take was 52.2.

Body condition scores were not given.

The capture total included 536 stallions, 544 mares and 225 foals.

Youngsters represented 17.2% of the animals captured, consistent with a herd growth rate of 12% per year.

Of the adults, 49.6% were male and 50.4% were female, well within the limits of variation from a random process centered at 50% males / 50% females.

Video of the abuse of a captured horse gave the advocates an opportunity to sell mass sterilization as a practical alternative to helicopter trapping.

Better Way 10-25-23

The number of horses removed depends on the number returned.

The June 3 schedule indicates that 40 mares will be treated with a fertility control pesticide and be returned to the Complex, leaving open the possibility of another GonaCon crime scene.

As for the burros, 360 were captured, 353 were shipped, none were released and eight died.

More animals were processed than caught, putting the unaccounted-for total at -1.

The capture and removal goals were identical at 356 each.

The death rate was 2.2%.

The average daily take was 14.4.

The capture total included 186 jacks, 152 jennies, and 22 foals.

Youngsters represented 6.1% of the animals captured.

Of the adults, 55% were male and 45% were female.

There were no plans to treat any of the burros with pesticides and return them to the range.

The Complex is subject to permitted grazing.  The roundup liberated 17,784 AUMs per year, giving new hope to the Blue Wing permittees.

RELATED: Blue Wing Roundup Announced.

UPDATE: The BLM news release was issued on August 7.