Amid Debate, Eight Wild Horses Captured in Iron County

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently captured eight wild horses from private land in Iron County, Utah, amid ongoing debates overwild horse management. This action has sparked discussions among local officials, ranchers, and wild horse advocates.

BLM's Recent Capture

The Bureau of Land Management on Monday removed eight wild horses from private land northwest of Cedar City, an Iron County commissioner said Tuesday.

Iron and Beaver counties have been pressing theBLMto round up horses because there are far more than the agency’s own prescribed limits. According to May 1 numbers, theBLMestimates it has nearly 1,700 wild horses in western Iron and Beaver counties, an area where there are supposed to be just more than 600.

Ranchers say the horses are competing with cattle for feed and water, and the counties are threateningroundupsthis summer if theBLMdoesn’t act.

To provide emergency relief in early April, theBLMset up corrals around a water trough on private land, but as of a week ago, not a single horse had been captured.

TheBLMwanted to set up four more such "traps," Miller said, and he wasn’t sure Tuesday whether the eight were captured in the original trap or a new one.

BLM-Utah spokeswoman Megan Crandall confirmed that the agency’s wild horse and burro specialists had "gathered and transported" eight wild horses that had strayed into a corral on private land.

The horses were all in good condition, and eventually will be put up for adoption, she said in a written statement. They’re being kept at theBLMcorrals in Cedar City.

Reactions from Wild Horse Advocates

Meanwhile, wild-horse advocates issued a statement saying theBLMwas caving into pressure from ranchers when the majority of Americans favor the horses over cattle on public lands.

The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) also questioned theBLM’s latest numbers of horses on the Bible Spring Complex, saying it would be "biologically impossible," given theBLM’s 2013 estimates.

Future Actions

TheBLMUtah office is awaiting word on its requests for money to round up an estimated 1,000 wild horses this summer.

Last week, ranchers in Iron, Beaver and Emery counties sued theBLM, alleging it has failed to do its job in managing the horses.

Originally Posted By The Salt Lake Tribune