Tagged: wild horses

The Bureau of Land Management will hear public feedback about the use of helicopters and motorized vehicles to round up wild horses at a meeting next month.

Wild Horse Specialist Ben Smith says the agency plans to remove nearly 600 feral horses in south-central Wyoming this year, leaving more than eleven-hundred on range land.

“The helicopter hearing is a hearing that we’re required annually to hold, to get the feedback from the public on the use of helicopters and motorized vehicles in wild horse and burro management,” says Smith.

A legal settlement between ranchers and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management would reduce wild horse numbers in southwest Wyoming by half or more.

Every year, the Bureau of Land Management removes thousands of horses from public land in Wyoming. They ship most of the horses to long-term holding facilities in the Midwest. But that’s expensive … and they’re running out of space. So now the BLM has partnered with ranchers to create a so-called horse “ecosanctuary” right here in the Cowboy State. It’s the first of its kind in the nation. Wyoming Public Radio’s Willow Belden reports.

AMBI: Ecosanctuary

The Bureau of Land Management has announced new restrictions on the sales of wild horses and burros.  

A recent ProPublica report alleged that thousands of wild horses bought from the BLM were sold to be slaughtered in Mexico.

Previously, buyers were permitted to buy an unlimited number of horses, but now a buyer can only purchase four horses or burros every six months. They must keep the animals for at least six months, describe where they’ll live, and provide safe transportation.

The Bureau of Land Management is backing a proposal to open a wild horse sanctuary in the Centennial Valley.
The BLM announced its decision Wednesday following a month-long public comment period.
 
The owners of the 4,000-acre Deerwood Ranch about 30 miles west of Laramie want to provide long-term care for up to 300 wild horses gathered from Wyoming rangelands. The horses would not be kept on public lands and would all be geldings.  
 

Although controversial, many veterinarians agree that a slaughterhouse could be a humane, efficient way to end the lives of old and unwanted horses.

University of Wyoming Veterinarian Doran  O’Toole says it’s a “sensitive” subject for horse owners, who view the animals as part-pet, part-livestock, and might have difficulty shooting an ailing horse.  He says having a vet administer barbiturates can be costly, and the owner is responsible to bury or incinerate the horse to prevent the carcass from spreading toxins to scavengers.