More than three grueling months after it started, the McCullough Peaks bait trap roundup concluded on 03/08/24, with a total of 40 horses removed. To describe this unnecessary roundup as a disaster would be an understatement. It began with the tragic death of the yearling filly, Kat Ballou, continued on with the removal of dependent weanling foals from their mothers and concluded with the removal of senior horses from the only home they've ever known. To add insult to injury, during the last days of the roundup, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decided to increase the target number of horses to be removed from 35 to 43. They attempted to justify this increase by stating that they were now adding the 2023 foals to the total population count. However, they did not take into consideration the five horses that died since the bait trapping began (Precious, Weeleetka, Legacy, Signal and Tupi) or the four additional horses missing and presumed dead.
When it was all over, the impact of this roundup was devastating. Because of the BLM's indiscriminate removal of horses just to reach "quota", families were torn apart, elder horses were left alone and bloodlines were destroyed. The BLM stated that one of the reasons for the roundup was to reset the sex ratio of the herd to a more favorable ratio. The sex ratio before the roundup was 40:60 (stallions:mares). This is the ratio that "nature" seems to prefer, and skewing it to 60:40 (stallions:mares) is what the BLM prefers. During this roundup, the BLM took more males than females (21 males vs. 19 females), confirming that in the end, the BLM had no concern for the configuration of this herd but just took whoever went into the trap.
In addition, even though the BLM stated that they would "focus their removal on horses 5 years old and younger", 19 of the 40 horses removed were adult horses with some as old as 15 years of age. The BLM nearly decimated the large Bridger herd removing 25 of 77 horses. Of the 25 horses removed from the Bridger herd, 17 were breeding age adults, further compromising the herd's genetic viability. Right now, the total population of horses at McCullough Peaks, including those born in 2023 is 138, two horses below the high AML of 140 and well below the number needed to keep the herd genetically viable.
I'll write more about the consequences of roundup soon, but today I wanted to share with you names, photos and information of all forty horses permanently removed, including dear Kat, who lost her life so needlessly. All the horses are currently being held at the Rock Springs Wild Horse Holding Facility in Wyoming and will be put up for online adoption some time this spring/summer.
I don't believe the range will ever be the same without these magnificent horses, but we'll do our best to help ensure that each one finds a home where they will be loved. Thank you all so much for your continued support for the McCullough Peaks herd. It means the world to me.
Kat Ballou-Removed -1/22/24. Died from head trauma 01/23/24.