Help us demand government accountability
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Just this past week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wrapped up another brutal helicopter roundup targeting the wild horses, including many young foals, who call the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area along the California-Nevada border home. More than 900 animals were captured and removed, and four tragically died.
As with nearly every federal roundup, American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) observers were on the ground with the goal of documenting the cruel reality these equines face in real time, but here’s the unbelievable truth: The public observation is often abysmal.
The trap site, where wild horses and burros are driven at the end of a helicopter chase, is the most dangerous part of a roundup. It’s here where severe injury and even death are most likely to occur.
Despite public observation of a government operation being guaranteed under the First Amendment, AWHC observers are frequently positioned up to two miles away from those trap sites — so far they can’t see them at all. Even with the most powerful camera lenses, observers can see and document only a small fraction of the dangerous moments unfolding during a roundup.
Is that what transparency looks like?
These pictures were taken by roundup observer Darlene Smith when she was deployed to the Sulphur roundup in Utah.
Photos by Darlene Smith at the Sulphur roundup in summer 2024.
Our observation teams are doing their best to document what’s happening to these iconic animals, but there’s only one way to guarantee no BLM atrocity goes unrecorded: Cameras on helicopters.
BLM roundups already take place in some of the most remote regions of the West — outside the public eye. Limitations on observation only further shroud the BLM’s irresponsible, unscientific management practices from the American people.
BLM roundups targeted more than 16,000 wild horses and burros last fiscal year— and more than 200 have died. These numbers include thousands of foals born mere months or weeks before being senselessly chased down and locked up, often separate from their mothers. AWHC is fighting every day to end costly, inhumane helicopter roundups. But until we can stop them for good, we need to ensure that we hold the BLM accountable for the cruelty wild horses and burros face during these tax-funded operations.
Thank you for your continued support of American wild horses and burros.
Onward,
American Wild Horse Conservation