31 Wild Horses Have Died in Nevada Roundups - Why Are They Allowed to Continue?
A federal judge has granted authorization for the US government to proceed with the ongoing gathering of thousands of wild horses in Nevada stating no evidence of inhumane or illegal treatment during the roundups.
A federal judge has authorized the US government to continue rounding up thousands of wild horses in Nevada, despite the operation already resulting in injuries and deaths among multiple stallions, mares, and foals.
The lawsuit, filed by the nonprofit Wild Horse Education, asserted that the rounding up of over 2,500 wild horses in northeastern Nevada, positioned between Reno and Salt Lake City, was in violation of the law and needed to be stopped. They called for federal land managers to explain why the roundup should be able to continue when it has left 31 mustangs dead in 26 days.
However, in a ruling, last Wednesday, US District Judge Larry Hicks stated he did not have evidence of inhumane or illegal treatment during the roundups, and therefore could not issue a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order.
“These tragedies are going to occur when you have gathers, so I cannot find there are inhumane treatments with these incidents,” he said during the ruling after a seven-hour hearing in Reno. “The stallions, mares, foals — they are beautiful animals but at they same time they are wild animals. There are going to be some that are lost,” he added.
July marked the official start of the Bureau of Land Management’s (B.L.M.) roundup of wild horses in the United States, with plans to remove up to 3,107 mustangs from public lands.
Sunshine, a well-known stallion who had spent several years roaming the Elko County region, was one of the casualties. Eyewitnesses reported that while trying to escape the roundup, Sunshine suffered a broken rear leg and endured a 35-minute chase by a B.L.M. helicopter as he tried to flee on three legs. The stallion was eventually shot and killed.
“Deaths are tragic, but they are a known and anticipated part of wild horse gathers that must be weighed against the harm the same horses face under drought and overpopulation conditions if the gather cannot be completed,” wrote Justice Department lawyers.
While B.L.M. lawyers claim that the deaths caused by the roundups are to be expected, advocates argue that these deaths could have been prevented. They claim that the B.L.M. is violating its own safety regulations, which halt roundups during severe heat and the involvement of helicopters in capturing animals when foals are present.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Laura Leigh, founder of the Nevada-based Wild Horse Education, said that she was “extremely disappointed” in the ruling.
“We are discussing with our attorney our options on how to proceed with the underlying complaint to address the lack of enforceable humane standards,” she said.
Animal Agriculture is Killing Wild Horses
The B.L.M. claims the purpose of the roundups are to ‘prevent undue or unnecessary degradation of the public lands’, according to their website.
But wild horse advocates argue that the real reason is to protect ranchers who graze cattle and sheep on public lands for a hugely reduced rate and don’t want any wildlife that can pose competition or harm their financial interests.
When livestock farmers graze their animals on public lands, such as those managed by the B.L.M., they pay $1.35 per animal unit per month as opposed to the $23.40 cost per animal to graze on private lands. Public land ranchers, thus, see wild horses as competition for space on these public lands, state advocates.
The roundup halfway between Reno and Salt Lake City is scheduled to continue through August. 22.
Take Action
Move to a plant-based food system: Choosing plant-based food instead of animal-based products is one of the most powerful things you can do to help protect the lands where wild horses should be roaming free. Sign up for the Species Unite 7-Day Vegan Challenge to help you get started.
Speak out against this heartless lack of empathy for the suffering of wild horses by tweeting John Raby, the Nevada State Director of the B.L.M. at @blmnv. You can also send an email to wildhorse@blm.gov or call the Nevada BLM at 775-861-6500. They are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (PDT). Monday through Friday.
Sign the petition: Please join Species Unite in urging Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to stop these roundups and find sustainable solutions to save these treasured and legally protected animals. You can sign the petition here.
Listen to podcast episode: Erik Molvar is a wildlife biologist and the executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, a nonprofit conservation group dedicated to protecting and restoring wildlife and watersheds across the American West. Erik came onto the show to help us better understand how and why these roundups continue to happen. Listen here.
Support organizations urgently fighting for horses, including Wild Horse Education, American Wild Horse Campaign, Animal Welfare Institute, and Species Unite.
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