Public Outrage Erupts Over Wild Mustang's Death at Federal Roundup

FILLMORE, Utah (July 19, 2020)– A wild mustang mare tragically died after crashing and breaking her neck during a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) helicopter roundup in Utah’s Swasey Herd Management Area (HMA).Photosreleased by the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) have sparked public outrage, highlighting the urgent need for Congress to protect the nation's wild horses and burros by reining in theBLM's roundup program.

Thousands have reacted to a photo posted on social media showingBLMwranglers covering a 5-year-old wild mustang mare with a sheet after she broke her neck in a small trap pen. Observers had warned that the trap design could lead to such accidents, but theBLMignored these concerns. Horses continued to crash into the panels even after the mare's death.

According to AWHC’s onsite observer, theBLMclaimed the mare died instantly, but photos show she was still moving after the crash. Instead of immediate euthanasia,BLMwranglers covered her with a sheet, waited until she stopped moving, then dragged her away with chains.

See daily photos and reports,here.

“TheBLM’s callous handling of this federally-protected wild horse, who just moments before was living free with her family, exemplifies the agency’s disregard for the welfare of America’s iconic mustangs,”said Grace Kuhn, Communications Director of the AWHC.“This young mare’s death could have been avoided hadBLMfollowed its own animal welfare guidelines and heeded warnings from observers on the ground.”

The roundup continues today in sweltering desert temperatures. AWHC’s observer reports that the horses are more stressed and agitated than in previous operations.

AWHC charged that theBLMis routinely violating its own animal welfare guidelines while requesting more funding fromCongressfor roundups, promising humane handling.

“Unbeknownst to most Americans, we the taxpayers are funding this brutality. It’s wrong, it’s unnecessary and it has to stop,”Kuhn continued.“Today we’re calling onCongressto act definitively to rein in theBLM’s wild horse roundup program. There’s a way to manage wild horses, and terrorizing them with helicopters and removing them en masse from public lands is not it.”

Congressrecently allocated an additional$21 millionfor theBLM’s roundup program, with the expectation of humane treatment. AWHC stated that the incident was anything but humane, and more deaths can be expected unless theBLMis held accountable.

The Swasey roundup aims to capture 800 wild horses, permanently removing them to reach a target of just 60.

Wild horses removed from Swasey HMA will be transported toBLMHolding Corrals in Delta and Axtell, Utah, becoming part of a system where theBLMwarehouses over 47,000 wild horses and burros.

The Swasey HMA encompasses approximately 120,113 acres of Federal and State lands, located fifty miles west of Delta, Utah. TheBLMallows just 60-100 wild horses to roam within the HMA, while authorizing over 12,000 privately-owned sheep and cows to graze. Across Utah, theBLMpermits livestock grazing on 22 million acres of public land, of which less than 10 percent (2.1 million acres) is shared with wild horses.

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TheAmerican Wild Horse Conservation(formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) is the nation’s leading wild horse protection organization, with more than 700,000 supporters and followers nationwide. AWHC is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage.