We must ensure accountability for our wild herds
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Our wild herds are suffering. Contractors, hired by the federal government to conduct wild horse helicopter roundups, are violating the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) very own animal welfare standards. These violations endanger our iconic wild horses and burros and put them at risk of serious injury.
Since 2021, the BLM has sent Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP) teams to assess five roundups conducted by Cattoor Livestock, one of the BLM’s longstanding roundup operators. These assessments revealed that in the five roundups assessed, Cattoor Livestock contractors violated the animal welfare standards 30 times. Over 20 of those were “major” violations, which means they impact the health or welfare of our wild equines.
One of the more concerning cases was the 2021 Antelope Complex roundup, where 11 wild horses died. Numerous violations were recorded including, separating foals from their mothers for at least six hours, and overcrowded holding pens. The BLM’s own publicly-available CAWP report from this roundup states:
| “The contractor was observed to be disagreeable and argumentative at every opportunity for discussion with the COR, the contractor offered more excuses than demonstrated interest in complying with the CAWP standards.” |
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This is not an isolated incident. In 2022, at the Black Mountain roundup, an employee of Cattoor Livestock was documented using a paddle in an abusive manner by jabbing and striking burros in their most sensitive areas, all while visibly angry and frustrated.
And at the Piceance-East Douglas roundup in Colorado, the federal contractor company was cited for seven major violations, including failure to provide proper facilities to care for vulnerable horses, including foals, improper water trough placement, and neglecting to control dust levels that posed respiratory risks to the animals. These violations of basic animal welfare guidelines are unacceptable.
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Thank you.
American Wild Horse Conservation