Wild horse preservationists have called into question the legality of the wild horse roundup in the checkerboard area of Wyoming which began Sept. 15.
Shelly Gregory with the Wyoming High Desert District of the Bureau of Land Management asserts the Wild Horse and Burro Act allows private land owners to request the BLM remove wild horses from their property.
“The BLM is respecting the rights of private land owners to operate their land as they see fit,” Gregory said.
The roundup is taking place in an area of Wyoming made up of alternating private- and publicly-owned parcels of land. Gregory said recent court rulings allow the BLM to consider the area as a single entity when implementing management strategies.
Gregory said the 2 million-acre herd management area is complicated to oversee, with half the land being privately owned. She said this complex situation led to the roundup not having a public comment period.
“The BLM used a categorical exclusion for this removal and did not go out for public comment, which we usually do when we do an environmental analysis in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act,” Gregory said.
Suzanne Roy with the American Wild Horse Campaign said this action has silenced public opinion. She calls the roundup an act of turning over public lands to private interests. Gregory said the BLM is working in compliance with the law.
The BLM has reported five chronic deaths during the roundup where pre-existing conditions contributed to the horse’s death and five acute, unexpected deaths.
Wild horse advocacy groups claim it is the stress of the roundup that has caused the deaths.
“I can’t speculate on their direct relation to the removal. But consider that the five acute deaths are less than one percent of the total horses gathered to date,” Gregory said.
The displaced horses will be transported to the Rock Springs Wild Horse Holdings Facility in Wyoming and Cannon City, CO to be prepared for adoption.
Gregory said the roundup is open daily for public observation.