| Wild horse was driven over rocks to his death during recent Owyhee roundup |
An independent observer who recently returned from scouting the Herd Area in north Elko County, Nevada where the Owyhee portion of the Tuscarora Gather took place has photographic evidence that one of the wild horses appears to have been driven to his or her death over rocky cliffs, presumably by Cattoor, the BLM's helicopter contractor. |
Though no such fatality was ever reported by the BLM, Katie Fite, a Biodiversity Director for the Western Watersheds Project, was able to document it during her visit to the area on July 25th and 26th. Her photograph depicting a horse lying dead on the rocks near the Owyhee River was submitted in support of Laura Leigh's legal motions against the BLM on the Tuscarora matter, the most recent of which was filed on Friday, July 30th. |
| "I noted evidence that horses had been driven down the river bed and held in temporary corrals. Also noted a horse that appears to have been driven onto the rocks." |
Ms. Fite's photographs were taken at the South Fork of the Owyhee River, north of the Owyhee roundup trap site, where she observed four places at which wild horses have access to water, contrary to the BLM's prior assertions that because no water was available to the mustangs in this Herd Area (HA), an "emergency rescue gather" was justified and necessary. |
Another observer, wild horse advocate Sandra Longley, also visited the Owyhee roundup area on July 16th and 17th, to document forage, water sources, cattle, and gates. She reported: |
| "I stood there on the Owyhee on July 17th amidst fields of wildflowers, water pouring out of the sides of mountains, and springs with water running down and alongside of roads. There was nothing but cattle, but over a few hills, many wild horses were dying. . .No horses could be documented except an ecosystem littered with the dead bodies of horses, who had suffered heat stroke at the hands of Sue Cattoor, the helicopter contractor. |
| There is so much more to come. We have yet to get the total of horses who died or were 'rescued' with a bullet out on the desert where they were stumbling around suffering from heat stroke from being pushed by the helicopter. Many of those would have been foals. . .By not counting those horses as 'gather' deaths, but due to drought, the BLM is allowed to escape being blamed for the largest massacre during a roundup." |
It is true that the BLM has never acknowledged, or reported, the deaths of the fallen horses Ms. Longley describes, but their stories must be told. In a press release issued today, the agency admits that 34 wild horses have died as a direct result of the Tuscarora roundup, but it's clear that the actual number who have perished at the BLM's directive is much, much higher. |
"From my earliest memories, I have loved horses with a longing beyond words." ~ Robert Vavra
