URGENT: Helicopter roundups are set to begin in several more states over the next two months

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Over the past month, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) helicopters have descended on Nevada’s mustangs as the agency captures 3,000 of the Antelope Complex wild horses in its largest planned roundup of the year. So far, this operation has claimed the lives of 21 wild horses, including young foals. 

As the summer months continue on, so do the roundups. The BLM is gearing up to begin its removal operations in several other states over the next two months – putting thousands more of these innocent animals in grave danger.

The BLM is preparing to round up nearly 400 wild horses from Oregon’s Palomino Butte, Stinkingwater, and Hog Creek Herd Management Areas (HMAs) starting in August. And in September, the agency will begin removing over a thousand wild horses and burros in Idaho, Colorado, and California.

Documenting the cruelty wild horses and burros suffer during these operations is an essential part of our work to hold the BLM accountable. That’s why we’ve set a $50,000 goal to refuel our Observation Fund and ensure we can deploy our humane observers to every roundup possible. Will you make a contribution to help us reach our goal before the deadline tomorrow night so we can continue documenting the mistreatment of wild horses and burros this roundup season?

Getting our observers out to these remote areas where roundups are conducted (and keeping them there) isn’t easy. The average cost to cover their food, lodgings, and to equip them with four-wheel-drive vehicles is approximately $2,500 for just one week at a roundup. 

This work requires a lot of time, effort, and resources, but it’s vital to ensuring the public knows exactly what is happening to these iconic wild horses and burros during brutal helicopter roundups. For example, tragic footage captured by one of our observers of the wild stallion who broke his leg trying to escape a BLM trap site helped bring national news coverage to the horrific incident.

Make no mistake, our roundup documentation is making a difference. As heartbreaking as they are, images like this help bolster our argument on Capitol Hill that more humane methods must be implemented to manage wild horses and burros. Just recently, in part thanks to evidence collected by our observers, members of Congress have included language in the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations Interior budget bill urging the BLM to consider alternatives to helicopter roundups for the first time ever!

Your support is what makes this critical work possible. So please, chip in whatever you can afford to help us reach our $50k Observation Fund goal and help us continue to hold the BLM accountable by documenting the often tragic reality of wild horse and burro roundups.

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Campaign