LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A gruesome discovery near Frenchmen Mountain: an animal dumping ground. Volunteers out looking for a missing dog say instead they found dozens of dead animals.
FOX5 also went out to the scene. FOX5’s Kim Passoth reports hidden off the highway was an above ground graveyard with all kinds of animals in various states of decomposition, some clearly freshly dumped. FOX5 is choosing not to share those images.
Along East Lake Mead Blvd., the road out to Lake Mead from the city just past Frenchman Mountain, there is a wash next to the highway not far from a hiking trail. The picturesque landscape has become a horrific dump site. Dead or dying animals have been thrown out with mounds of trash.
“The smell of the decomposing bodies was horrendous…it’s unbelievable like I can’t even wrap my mind around it,” shared Joyce Foreman, a volunteer with animal rescue group Paws Patrol LV. Foreman helps people find their missing dogs and went there Saturday morning after a missing dog was spotted by a hiker.
“His name is Grizzly and he’s a Cane Corso. We’ve been out in the area searching for him,” Foreman revealed. Just steps away from where she parked, the animal lover spotted something that made her heart drop.
“The first thing we noticed when we were out here was that there was a clear bag right here in this dark area and there was a deceased German Shepherd inside,” Foreman recounted. That was just the beginning of the horrific discoveries.
“Dogs, chickens, goats, sheep…I bagged and picked up 16 [animals]. We counted more,” Foreman explained. Those were mostly dogs including a litter of puppies.
“They were just all laying there next to each other wrapped in the paper towels. They were little pug puppies…It’s horrible. I mean, it’s gut wrenching. They had no chance,” contended Foreman. Some animals are just dumped right on the side of the road. As FOX5 was driving near the wash area, we spotted a dead sheep right on the side of the highway.
“Probably some of it is still out there,” Foreman stated about other dead animals.
Why has the area near Frenchman Mountain become an animal dumping ground? One reason is the remoteness of the location. There are no homes or businesses nearby, no eyes watching. As to why someone would leave an animal to die or dump a dead one, Foreman says she can only speculate perhaps the animals were sick and the owners not wanting to pay for vet bills or perhaps something more sinister, whatever the case she says groups like hers are always there to help so it never comes to this.
“We have people every day that reach out to us, whether it’s for food, whether it’s for looking for, to rehome or just surrendering their pets and we are happy to provide that information and try and assist them,” Foreman reported.
The dead dogs (12) were all scanned for microchips and then taken by Clark County Animal Protection Services for cremation.
Five years ago, FOX5 reported on a similar animal dumping ground near Frenchman Mountain.
We asked both Clark County and BLM if this has been a recurring issue and what is being done about it.
Clark County Animal Protection Services urges the public to report any suspected instances of animal dumping. If the public witnesses someone discarding an animal in Unincorporated Clark County, please attempt to safely gather the following information:
- License plate number
- Vehicle description
- Any other identifying information (e.g., driver description, company logos)
Immediately report it to Clark County Animal Protection Services Dispatch 702-455-7710. Attached is also their report on their response to the January 11, 2025, incident with an original call of four deceased pug puppies.
The area is Bureau of Land Management land. FOX5 asked the following questions and got these responses from BLM’s Southern Nevada District Office:
1. How big of a problem is animal dumping in the desert areas around Las Vegas, especially in this area near Frenchman Mountain?
Illegal dumping of all kinds on public lands is a big issue throughout the Las Vegas Valley where public lands meet developed areas. Animals are also included in this illegal dumping. When Molly was out, we took her to an area, right along the side of the road (Lake Mead Blvd), with multiple dead animals.
2. Whose responsibility is it to patrol this area? Metro? BLM?
Both Metro and BLM patrol the areas, and we have limited resources. The BLM covers 3.1 million acres of land in Southern Nevada, and a significant urban-nature interface.
3. Any idea why so many animals end up dead there? What can be done to stop it?
I don’t think there is a catch-all for why people dump dead animals, or any illegal dumping of items. Some people don’t know it’s the wrong thing to do; some people don’t think they have other options; some people don’t care and do it intentionally. There’s also no catch-all for how to stop it. We do work with Metro to increase patrols in problem areas – it helps but doesn’t solve the base problem. Our big push is educating people on why they should be good stewards of their public lands and the damage illegal dumping does to the land.
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