Video shows wild horses in Nevada roped, dragged by government contractors

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Video obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators shows wild horses being roped and dragged by contractors whom the federal government hired. The wild horses were being captured during a federal roundup in northern Nevada led by the Bureau of Land Management.

The BLM began the East Pershing Wild Horse Gather on Dec. 28, according to its website. The area, located between Lovelock and Winnemucca, is more than 2.1 million acres.

The BLM stated that 2,875 wild horses needed to be removed to restore an “ecological balance and multiple-use relationship on public lands.”

Critics have argued that the government is appeasing ranchers for their cattle.

As of Jan. 29, the BLM reported that 24 wild horses died and 2,048 had been captured.

Observers for the group “Wild Horse Education” regularly monitor these types of operations.

“Roundups need to stop until BLM creates an enforceable welfare policy,” the group posted on its website.

The video also shows a helicopter flying close to the wild horses during several chases.

Documents reviewed by the 8 News Now Investigators revealed that a contract for $690,000 was awarded to Shayne Sampson of Utah for the East Pershing Wild Horse Gather.

The 8 News Now Investigators reached Shayne Sampson by phone on Tuesday. He referred the inquiry to the BLM and then hung up on the reporter.

On Jan. 24, Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Rep. Steven Cohen (D-TN) asked BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning to pause the East Pershing Complex gather operation.

In a letter, they pointed to 20 horse deaths in less than a month and stated it “has further demonstrated persisting faults in BLM’s wild horse strategy.”

Titus and Cohen also expressed concerns about BLM’s Tentative Wild Horse and Burro Gather and Fertility Control Schedule which includes gathering nearly 21,000 horses compared to the nearly 7,000 scheduled for roundups in 2023.

The plan for the new fiscal year included roundups throughout New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming, California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

Titus and Cohen also criticized the use of helicopters.

Some wild horse advocates have pushed for fertility control. According to the BLM, no wild horses in the East Pershing Wild Horse Gather will be treated with fertility control.

Wild horses captured during the gathering are brought to a corral where they can then be adopted or sold, according to the BLM.

Titus introduced a bill in 2022 to ban the use of helicopters. In May of 2023, the “Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act” was introduced into Congress marking the first step of the legislative process. The following month, it was referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.

Nevada has the largest population of wild horses.

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