LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Bureau of Land Management announced that it concluded the fiscal year 2024 Nevada Wild Horse Range Herd Management Area wild horse gather near Tonopah on December 14.
According to a media release, BLM gathered 309 wild horses and removed 137 excess wild horses from public lands. Of those gathered, the BLM released back to the range 109 mares treated with GonaCon Equine, a population suppression control vaccine, 53 studs and three foals.
BLM said that the purpose of the gather is to “prevent wild horse numbers from exceeding high-end Appropriate Management Level and to restore a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship on public lands,” consistent with the provisions of Section 1333(b) of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The action is also necessary to reapply fertility control to mares within the HMA to help reduce the overall population growth of wild horses in the management area.
“This gather was critical in the management of wild horses on the Nevada Wild Horse Range so we can keep them at an appropriate management level for the area,” said Nicholas Pay, Pahrump Field Manager.
The BLM transported the animals removed from the range to the Ridgecrest Regional Wild Horse and Burro Corrals in Ridgecrest, Calif., to be readied for the BLM’s wild horse and burro Adoption and Sales Program. Wild horses not adopted or sold will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
A report on the gather noted that seven horses died during the operation: three suddenly, and four with pre-existing or chronic conditions. Complete statistics are available here.
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