Owyhee roundup: 108 wild horses captured, Nov. 26, 2016

All photos and video by Steve Paige.

Sign RTF’s anti-roundup petition here. Please consider a contribution to the Wild Horse Defense Fund, which makes it possible for RTF to have humane observers on the ground at roundups. Having an active voice has proven valuable for holding BLM and contractors accountable for the humane handling of wild horses, pressing for improvements to humane standards, and educating policymakers and the public about how tax dollars are being used.

A total of 108 wild horses were captured on Friday during the ongoing helicopter roundup at the Owyhee Complex in Northern Nevada.

The capture of the 43 studs, 44 mares and 21 foals brings to 1,445 the number of wild horses rounded up since Nov. 2. Sixteen horses have died, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

Of those captured, 198 wild horses have been returned to the range — including 94 mares had been treated with PZP-22 fertility control vaccine.

During this second phase of the roundup, BLM plans to capture 920 wild horses and remove 650 from the range. During the first phase, 770 wild horses (297 studs, 329 mares, 144 foals) were captured.

Captured wild horses are being transported from temporary holding to the Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Center near Reno, Nevada. On Friday, 86 wild horses (26 studs, 31 mares, 29 foals) were shipped there.

Horses that are not adopted will later be taken to BLM off-range pastures.

BLM justifies the roundup as an effort to “remove excess wild horses in order to prevent further deterioration of Greater Sage grouse habitat within the Sagebrush Focal Area (in northern Elko and Humboldt Counties. Overpopulation of wild horses leads to the degradation of rangeland resources, which adversely impacts habitat for other species as well as the horses themselves.”

To watch video from the roundup, please click here.

Photos from Friday, Nov. 25: