Despite being held up in court, wild horse roundups in Wyoming have gone forward.
The following is a press release from the Bureau of Land Management:
The Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs Wild Horse Holding Facility has received 338 new arrivals from the removal of wild horses from the checkerboard portions of the Adobe Town, Salt Wells Creek and Great Divide Basin herd management areas (HMAs). The facility can house up to 800 wild horses and expects up to 400 from the checkerboard removal.
Upon arrival, mares and foals are kept together in their own pens, younger horses of the same gender are kept in other pens and stud horses are sorted by age and placed in their own pens. The wild horses are then given time to acclimate to their new environment. When acclimated, they will be vaccinated and freeze-marked. The facility veterinarian is also on-site to observe and treat any health concerns.
To make room for the checkerboard horses, 299 horses were transferred to other holding facilities. These include training facilities in Canon City, Colorado and the Hutchinson Kansas Prison. These horses will be gentled and available for adoption. Another group was sent to the Paul’s Valley adoption facility and a long-term holding facility in Teterville, Kansas.
Most of the wild horses remaining in the Rock Springs facility were gathered last year in the Salt Wells and Adobe Town HMAs and include weanlings who were born in the facility earlier this year. The weaned horses are six or more months old and have been vaccinated and freeze-marked in preparation for future adoption.
The facility is closed while the wild horses acclimate. No public tours or adoptions will be conducted; however, the public viewing kiosk will remain open. The public will be notified when the facility reopens. The horses will then be available for adoption.
More information is available at www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Wild_Horses/rs-wh-facility.html, www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Wild_Horses/adopt.html or by contacting Kathi Fine at 307-352-0292.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.
Source: BLM
Posted by Haylie Shipp
