DEVELOPING: A pattern of cruel conditions in BLM holding facilities >>
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Our Investigations Team works day in and day out to ensure that no stone is left unturned when it comes to uncovering the consequences of removing wild horses and burros from public lands and stockpiling them in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding pens.
Every investigative report we write, every legal inquiry we pursue, and every Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request we file, reveals the same:
America’s wild herds are living peacefully on the public lands they call home → The BLM conducts brutal helicopter roundups to maintain pre-determined and unscientific population levels → Innocent horses and burros are crowded into government holding facilities plagued by disease outbreaks, or worse, are sent into the slaughter pipeline through the Adoption Incentive Program.
Using FOIA, our Investigations Team recently uncovered the deaths of 45 innocent burros held captive at the BLM’s Axtell holding pens in Utah. They are the latest known victims of this cruel and costly system. Rush a donation now to power our investigative work to expose and change the way these treasured animals are treated. →
These burros were rounded up by BLM helicopters from Nevada’s Blue Wing Complex in August of last year. Within two months of their capture, 45 of these burros died.
- 31 died due to hyperlipaemia, a preventable blood condition that occurs in burros who have suddenly stopped eating — most likely due to stress and an inability to adapt to confinement in this instance, according to a DVM and donkey specialist consulted by AWHC.
- 6 died from hemorrhaging after gelding, a routine and generally low-risk procedure.
- The remaining 7 died from causes listed as either: “old age,” “no teeth,” “colic,” or “other”.
These devastating casualties highlight the stress and danger wild, free-roaming animals face in BLM holding facilities, which are often overcrowded and understaffed.
We can’t change what we don’t know about, so exposing these conditions is the first step towards better protections for wild horses and burros on and off the range. Our Investigations Team is determined to end this suffering, but we need supporters like you to help us move forward.
Thank you for choosing to be a part of this mission, Meredith. It means so much to us, and everything to them.
— American Wild Horse Campaign