MEEKER, CO (June 14, 2022) — Today, the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC), challenged a decision this week by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to accelerate the start date of a Colorado wild horse roundup in the Piceance Basin Herd Management Area (HMA), west of Meeker. The capture operation, originally scheduled for September, will now begin this week despite calls by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse, and U.S. Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV), and Steve Cohen (D-TN) to pause roundups amidst growing concerns over conditions for captured wild horses in the agency’s holding corrals.

At least 145 wild horses have died from an outbreak of Equine Influenza Virus (EIV) at the BLM’s holding facility in Canon City. As of June 9, the BLM is reporting that another equine infectious disease, commonly known as ‘strangles,’ has been detected in the same facility.   

According to the BLM, the first phase of the Piceance capture operation will focus on bait trapping an undisclosed number of horses the agency says are in poor body condition. Then, beginning in July, the BLM will bring in helicopters to round up hundreds more wild horses, with an overall goal of permanently removing 750 of these federally protected animals from public lands in the area. 

“The American Wild Horse Campaign is alarmed by the BLM’s sudden decision to speed up capture operations so soon after Governor Polis and Congressman Neguse called for a pause in this large-scale roundup,” said Suzanne Roy, the group’s Executive Director. “We believe an independent assessment of the condition of the Piceance horses, and their habitat, including water availability within the HMA, would be a more measured and appropriate next step than accelerating an unpopular and potentially dangerous helicopter roundup.”

The captured horses will be sent into the agency’s overcrowded holding system, in which 18,354 wild horses and burros are currently confined and where recent internal BLM assessments revealed systemic animal welfare violations. 

“The BLM already has a capacity crisis on its hands. If a minority of horses are in need of assistance, then clearly the BLM must focus on helping them through humane measures. However, the agency must not use a limited emergency as an excuse to accelerate a wholesale helicopter roundup of hundreds of wild horses and send them to a broken holding system where they are at a heightened risk of disease and death,” Roy continued. 

“At a minimum, the BLM must reinstate its original timeline of September and honor Governor Polis’ and Congressman Neguse’s requests for a delay to review the situation and examine more humane, sustainable solutions to protect Colorado’s wild horses,” she concluded. 

About the American Wild Horse Campaign

The American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) is the nation's leading wild horse protection organization, with more than 700,000 supporters and followers nationwide. AWHC is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse and burros in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. In addition to advocating for the protection and preservation of America's wild herds, AWHC implements the largest wild horse fertility control program in the world through a partnership with the State of Nevada for wild horses that live in the Virginia Range near Reno.

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