Mysterious Burro Killings Unite Frequent Enemies in the West

Federal authorities and animal nonprofits have more than tripled the reward for information on the mysterious killing of 42 burros in the California desert.

The reward, which has risen to $58,000 from $18,000, is intended to identify those responsible for an unprecedented and unexplained string of killings. Officials with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) report that the animals, part of a herd residing in a Mojave Desert valley near the Nevada border, appear to have been fatally shot with a high-powered rifle while gathered at watering holes.

BLMofficials, who are leading the investigation, stated that burros have been shot before, but never on this scale. They have no information on a potential motive behind the killing spree that began in May.

TheBLMoversees most of the estimated 16,000wild burros, a species known to many from the “Shrek” movies, on public land in the West. The descendants of animals first brought to the West by Spanish explorers, burros have in the past drawn criticism from some ranchers because they eat grass and other vegetation also used by cattle.

The reward marks a rare instance of partnership with theBLMby animal-rights groups, which have long opposed the federal agency’s methods of capturing and selling or adopting out some burros.

Originally posted by The Wall Street Journal