BLM Admits Horse Roundups Have Involved Mistreatment

An internal review by the US Bureau of Land Management admits that the roundup of wild horses has involved some mistreatment, but they refuse to admit the treatment was inhumane.

Excerpted from USA Today....

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's internal review of a wild horse roundup in Nevada found some mustangs were whipped in the face, kicked in the head, dragged by a rope around the neck, and repeatedly shocked with electrical prods, but the agency concluded none of the mistreatment rose to the level of being inhumane.

The Bureau of Land Management's internal review of a wild horse roundup in Nevada in Sept., found some mustangs were kicked in the head, dragged by a rope around the neck and repeatedly shocked with electrical prods, but the agency concluded none of the mistreatment rose to the level of inhumane.

BLM Director Bob Abbey did, however, determine additional training is needed for the workers and contractors involved. Abbey, the former BLM state director for Nevada, said the roundup this summer near the Utah line was done correctly for the most part. But he said the review cited some incidents of inappropriate practices, including helicopters jeopardizing the health and safety of horses by following too closely or chasing small bands or individual animals for too long.

"Aggressive and rough handling of wild horses is not acceptable, and we are actively taking steps to ensure that such behavior is not repeated," Abbey said in a statement announcing a number of procedures intended to improve and further review the BLM's standard operating procedures for roundups.

T. Boone Pickens' Wife Proposes Horse Refuge

Here's hoping it works out.

The wife of the Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens said {November 18} that she would create a refuge for wild horses, after the federal agency that manages them said it might have to kill some to control the herds and protect the Western range.

About 33,000 wild horses and burros roam the open range in 10 Western states. The federal Bureau of Land Management wants that population to be around 27,000 to protect the herd, the range and other foraging animals.

Horses that are too old or not adoptable by the public are sent to long-term holding facilities. The bureau now has about the same number of animals in holding facilities as on the range. The agency has said the costs of keeping horses in the holding facilities has caused officials to consider euthanasia as a last resort.

Mr. Pickens’s wife, Madeleine, said that she had proposed buying about one million acres to be a refuge for the horses now in holding facilities and that the bureau had agreed to give her the horses once she had the land."