A hidden ground crew closes the gate with remote control.Īcross the decade of data, 96 horses and four burros died or were euthanized during or just after the bait-trap gathers, and 268 horses died during or just after the helicopter gathers, said Scasta. In bait-trapping, the horses freely enter a wide enclosure that contains water or food, without human presence. During helicopter gathers, horses are driven by a helicopter that flies behind and slightly above the herd until the horses reach an enclosure. There were 36 helicopter gathers and 34 bait-trapping gathers. The 70 captures from 2010 to 2019 involved nearly 29,000 horses and more than 2,000 burros in nine states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming). Scasta recently reviewed 10 years’ worth of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) data on the capture of wild mustangs and burros. In either scenario, the death rate is significantly lower than that found in roundups of other wild animal species, he said. Despite claims that helicopter-driven gathers are dangerous for feral horses, recent scientific evidence shows these roundups are relatively safe, at least for the mustangs and wild burros roaming freely on public lands in the Western United States.Īnimal deaths, both natural and resulting from humane euthanasia, related to helicopter roundups of feral equids occur at a similar rate as deaths related to bait-trapping-another method used to gather wild horses-said John Derek Scasta, PhD, of the University of Wyoming’s Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, in Laramie.
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