Refer to the story posted today by the Charlotte Observer. The contraceptive of choice is PZP and it’s applied to mares aged five or less and fifteen and older.
There is a rule in the unwritten code of wild horse advocacy that says you don’t participate in anything that results in fewer horses on the range. Fertility control, however, seems to be an exception. The code word is ‘humane management.’
A news release issued today states that the National Advisory Board will meet in Salt Lake City October 9 – 11 to provide recommendations to the BLM on the WHB program.
The subject of the conference will be wild horses and burros. The stated reason for the meeting is the adverse effects of WHB overpopulation on western rangelands. The real reason for the meeting is the adverse effects of WHB on public-lands ranching.
The Board will visit a nearby HMA on the first day, presumably one that hasn’t been gathered this year (will be hard to find in Utah).
The last two days will probably be devoted to freeing up more forage for livestock, on lands set aside for horses and burros.
It’s not about saving money. It’s not about saving an endangered species. It’s about an unelected bureaucracy catering to a special interest against the wishes of the American people.
Bait trapping ended 09/04/18, with 89 wild horses removed from the Pancake HMA, according to a news release issued today. Three deaths were reported and no animals were returned to the range. A foal was euthanized on the first day due to injuries received when she was kicked by another horse inside the trap.
The gather was delayed for several weeks due to unfavorable weather.
Captured animals were taken to the Indian Lakes off-range corrals in Fallon, NV, where they will be placed into the WHB adoption program.
Livestock grazing has not been allowed in the area since 2000.
The roundup originally planned for August will begin on September 11, according to a BLM news release issued yesterday. The removal target is still 149 animals. The gather will be open to public observation. Visitors are advised that low flying helicopters will be involved in the operation
The Muddy Creek HMA covers 283,400 acres in central Utah per the announcement and has an AML of 125, for an aimed-at population density of 0.44 animals per thousand acres.
The HMA description says 208,810 acres.
Captured animals will be taken to the Wild Horse Facility in Delta, UT, where they will be prepared for adoption.
Gather stats and daily reports can be found at this page.
The announcement did not indicate if livestock were present on the HMA.
The Virginia Ranges will be discussed at the September 5 Nevada Board of Agriculture meeting (item 3A on the agenda). Members of local advocacy groups will attend at the Sparks, NV office. Video of the meeting will be posted when available.
Background info for the discussion appears in this document.
The wild horse herd on the barrier island of Shackleford Banks added 14 foals in 2017, while losing five adults and one foal, for a net increase of eight horses. The population at the beginning of 2018 was 120 horses.
Fertility control has not been applied since 2009. The AML is 130 and the area where the horses roam covers 3000 acres, for an aimed-at population density of 43.3 animals per thousand acres.
No roundups are planned. Livestock are not present in the area.
Refer to the story in Coastal Review Online dated 09/04/18.
The report published by NPS indicated that, of the horses aged twenty years and older, 17 out of 20 are mares (85%). Assuming that mortality is evenly distributed among genders (p = .5), you’d expect to find between four and sixteen mares in the group, using np-chart limits with n = 20.
That you have 17 mares (and 3 stallions) suggests that mortality favors stallions at Shackleford Banks. This result should be attributed to a special cause.
The report did not say if any of the three stallions were band leaders.
Wild horse herds on the east coast barrier islands have been on U.S. soil longer than those of the American west.
The USFS will remove approximately 1000 wild horses from the Devil’s Garden Plateau WHT, beginning in early October, according to an undated statement at the Modoc National Forest web site.
The roundup will be conducted by Cattoor Livestock Roundup Inc. The announcement did not indicate if gather operations would be open to public observation.
Presumably, horses removed from the range will be taken to BLM holding facilities where they will be checked by veterinarians and offered for adoption.
The WHT covers 308,000 acres and has an AML of 402, for an aimed-at population density of 1.3 animals per thousand acres. It’s located in northeast California.
The announcement did not indicate if livestock were present in the area. A video was included to document current conditions on the WHT (embedded below).
Livestock do not appear in the video and the term is not mentioned in the narrative.
Therefore, it must be those darn oil companies—or mining companies—demanding that the wild horse population be reduced. After all, T-post fencing is a sure sign that drilling and digging are going on just out of frame. Almost certainly there are derricks behind those trees the Forest Service doesn’t want you to see.
The muddy area at 4:07 was caused by the fence not by the horses. Who put that fence there? Not exactly what you’d expect to find in a wilderness area.
A look over the fence at the corral discussed in this post, along with some remarks on it’s design. Built in 2013 based on the ‘white board’ video in this post.
A stallion named Tecate was killed earlier today on Hwy 318 in northwest Colorado, according to a report just posted in the Craig Press. Low visibility was cited as a factor in the incident. The Sand Wash Basin HMA is about 45 miles west of Craig, CO.
