A rising death toll of captive wild horses in fenced pens has hit 142 after federal caretakers failed to provide vaccinations in the latest breakdown of the government’s controversial holding system.
CAÑON CITY — The debacle has piqued concerns about humane treatment as the Bureau of Land Management ramps up roundups to reduce mushrooming Mustang herds that roam free — along with cattle and sheep — on increasingly arid public lands.
The outbreaks and die-offs here and at a BLM facility in Wyoming intensified a long-running struggle over how to handle the West’s wild horses, or Mustangs, descendants of horses Spanish settlers introduced, as hotter, drier conditions reduce grass and water horses need to survive in the wild. Animal rights advocates are exploring a lawsuit around the failure to vaccinate and standards of care at holding facilities.
Disease outbreaks causing as many deaths of captive horses as the one that began April 23 in Cañon City have been rare, Hires said, acknowledging that sickness can spread rapidly when horses are concentrated in pens. BLM officials have declared quarantines at both facilities and said employees will monitor sick horses, treating them where possible given that Mustangs can be difficult.
Captivity in Cañon City is meant to be “temporary.” The facility is run in partnership with the Colorado Department of Corrections with prison inmates conducting the work of feeding and caring for wild horses. The program began in 1985 and has expanded to hold as many as 2,950 horses, state officials said. Four state employees and an inmate workforce of 22 handle the horses under BLM supervision.
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