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Thousands from their herd were rounded up in 2022. Now the BLM is coming for them again.
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: This is Jolene and Porter. Jolene and Porter are from the Porter Springs Herd Management Area (HMA) — which Porter is named after — located in Nevada’s 2.2 million acre Blue Wing Complex. For years, thousands of wild burros and wild horses roamed these lands freely. But the photo above was taken just before a massive Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roundup in 2022 that changed the lives of many of these animals forever. Over 800 burros and 1,022 horses were chased down by helicopters and captured in the 2022 Blue Wing Complex roundup. Even worse, the BLM publicly reported that 12 deaths occurred during the operation — including many older burros who had lived their entire lives wild and free, only to be rounded up and needlessly euthanized due to conditions like “pre-existing fractures.” Now, the BLM is gearing up for another roundup in the Blue Wing Complex starting July 8. The agency is planning to round up nearly 1,400 mustangs and over 300 wild burros, and there’s no telling whether burros like Jolene and Porter will remain free this time. AWHC is the last line of defense for these innocent animals. We’re the boots on the ground fighting in the field, in the courts, and on Capitol Hill to end helicopter roundups and conserve the public lands that wild burros and wild horses roam. But we can’t do it without your help. Can you please chip in to help us reach our $25,000 goal and power our work to end the cruel and costly mismanagement of our wild herds? Your support means so much to us, and to burros like Jolene and Porter. HELP US REACH OUR GOAL Sadly, as you may have read in our previous email, the trauma of the Blue Wing Complex herd did not end when the helicopters landed. Our FOIA requests uncovered a total of 37 burros died in federal holding at the hands of BLM — a tragedy that never would have come to light without the vital work of AWHC’s investigations team. We’re fighting to stop helicopter roundups and secure the humane conservation of our wild herds. But until we make that happen, we must continue to document and expose the full impacts of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, both during roundups and after them, so we can hold the agency accountable through our legislative and ...
Thanks to your generosity, we can tell their stories
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: With Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roundup season starting in just a few days, we are sending observers to document any cruelty during these dangerous operations. But our work doesn’t stop there. We also investigate what happens after wild horses and burros are captured and funneled into the BLM’s overcrowded holding system. Our Investigations Team files Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain government documents that reveal the harsh reality wild horses and burros face in BLM holding facilities. Below, I’m going to tell you about some of the important FOIA work we’ve been doing to expose what’s happening to our wild horses and burros in BLM captivity — but first, please chip in to help us reach our $25,000 goal and prepare for the summer roundup season! → HELP US PREPARE The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law that enables private citizens and organizations to access public records that federal agencies, such as the BLM, may be reluctant to release. This makes FOIA a powerful tool for uncovering critical and often revealing information about the mismanagement of our nation's wild horses and burros. For example, we discovered through a FOIA request earlier this year that, in 2023, a staggering 267 wild horses died at the Fallon (Indian Lakes) Off-Range Holding Corral in Nevada. This facility, which is the agency’s largest short-term holding facility in Nevada, has an average population of a little over 3,000 animals, with a capacity to hold over 7,000. This means 9% of the population died in just one year. And these are not isolated incidents, Meredith. In 2022, we filed FOIA requests regarding the Blue Wing Complex roundup in Nevada. The BLM reported only 14 deaths during the roundup. But through our FOIA requests, we found that, in the 30 days after the roundup began, an additional 38 wild horses and burros perished in the Axtell holding facility where they had been sent. As if that isn’t bad enough, the FOIA records also reveal in the three months after the roundup, another 25 horses and burros died in the holding facility. Their causes of death ranged from complications during gelding, to colic, to spinal cord injuries, and more. This brought the total deaths since the start of the roundup to approximately 77 wild horses and burros — a much larger number than the 14 animals the ...
We are just DAYS away from the start of summer roundups!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) summer roundup season begins this Monday. This summer, government helicopters will descend on wild horses and burros in five states across the West as the BLM continues its plans to round up over 20,000 of these iconic animals from their homes this Fiscal Year (FY). The first herd targeted is the North Lander Complex wild horses in Wyoming where over 2,700 are slated to be permanently removed from the range. This is the largest roundup planned in FY 2024. And Meredith, that’s just the beginning – thousands more of these innocent animals will also face inhumane helicopter roundups in Nevada, Utah, California, and Oregon. AWHC is working tirelessly to end the cruel practice of helicopter roundups and prove there is a better way to manage America’s wild herds. In the meantime, it’s crucial that we hold the BLM accountable for the abuses that wild horses and burros face during these capture operations. That’s why we’re preparing to send observation teams to as many of the planned helicopter roundups as possible to document the inhumane treatment of our wild herds – and we need your help to make it happen. To support this critical work ahead in the next few months – including funding these observation teams – we’ve set a goal to raise $25,000 by the start of the summer roundup season on July 1. Will you make a contribution to help us reach our goal so we can fight for thousands of wild horses and burros in danger of BLM helicopter roundups this summer? HELP US REACH OUR GOAL Helicopter roundups often leave wild horses and burros traumatized. Young foals are separated from their mothers, horses and burros are often run to exhaustion, injuries are common, and sometimes lives are tragically lost. These operations take place in some of the most remote corners of the West away from the public eye. That’s why AWHC has assembled and trained a team of photographers and videographers who deploy to these locations and serve as our boots on the ground, ensuring transparency and accountability during roundups. Our observation program is sustained by the generosity of wild horse champions like you. Will you chip in a contribution to help us reach our $25,000 goal so we have the resources we need to hold the BLM accountable this summer roundup season? POWER OUR OBSERVATION PROGRAM Thank you, American Wild ...
It’s not too late to speak out against the BLM’s sterilization plan
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: The essence of the North Lander wild herd is captured in its untamed stallions. But in less than a week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will begin implementing a 10-year plan that includes the castration of up to 95% of the captured and returned stallions, threatening not only their wild behaviors but also the survival of the entire herd. This would be devastating, Meredith. The castration, or gelding, of wild stallions destroys their natural family dynamics. According to the National Academy of Science, castration leads to a "complete loss of male-type behaviors," stripping these majestic creatures of their natural instincts and vigor. In a Utah study, castrated stallions lost their herds and struggled to maintain family bonds. These disruptions threaten the social fabric of wild horse herds. To make matters worse, in addition to gelding, the plan also authorizes the use of unproven Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) in mares, as well as the widespread use of the unstudied vaccine Gonacon. If this plan is implemented, the permanent sterilization of the North Lander stallions and the use of untested IUDs could irrevocably fracture this herd's genetic viability. There’s still time to speak out. Click here to call on the BLM to reevaluate its 10-year plan and to abandon the use of gelding and experimental IUDs on the North Lander wild horses. You can be a voice for these innocent animals. SPEAK UP FOR NORTH LANDER Thank you, American Wild Horse Conservation ...
Other ways you can support wild horse conservation
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: From signing petitions to powering our work through contributions, folks like you are the backbone of the wild horse conservation movement. Every letter signed and every dollar raised takes us one step closer to achieving the future we are fighting to build for America’s wild herds. But we know there are many of you who would like to do even more to support our iconic wild horses and burros. So today, we’re going to tell you about other ways you can help! Planned gifts like wills and trusts are some of the best ways to help the charities you support long after your lifetime. By including a Legacy Gift to AWHC in your will, you can become a lasting part of our work to realize transformative change and lifelong freedom for America’s wild horses and burros. Please learn more about making a Legacy Gift here. LEARN HOW TO MAKE A LEGACY GIFT Donating long-term appreciated securities like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds is a great way to support our work to keep these majestic animals wild — and compared to cash, you may be able to automatically increase your gift and your tax donation. Please learn more about donating long-term appreciated securities here. LEARN MORE ABOUT STOCKS & BONDS Donor-Advised Funds (DAF) provide an immediate tax benefit to you and allow you to grant funds to the charities of your choosing, like AWHC! Please learn more about setting up a DAF here. LEARN MORE ABOUT DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS And finally, you can purchase American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) merch from one of our partners and a portion of the proceeds will go directly toward the fight to keep wild horses wild! Click here to shop with our partners and check out all of the other different things you can do to help further wild horse and burro protection! SHOP OUR PARTNERS Thank you! Team AWHC ...
