At least two of the 82 wild horses who were captured during the last seven days of the Triple B Complex roundup in Nevada didn't make it, according to the BLM's own Gather Reports. In all, a total of 12 horses have perished since the roundup began on July 20th in the desert heat, just as the normal foaling season was winding down.
More than 1200 native horses have been chased by hired helicopters into waiting traps during this roundup, where they are held pending their shipment to short-term holding facilities. None have been re-released into the wild, and indeed, the BLM plans to seize 500 more.
A mare who had been forced to run in 90-degree heat was found dead in the temporary corrals on Wednesday morning, August 24th, having "died overnight." A necropsy purportedly revealed that she had a "heart issue," and it's reasonable to assume that the stress of having to run for her life in the heat of the mid-day sun contributed to the mare's cardiovascular failure.
On Thursday, August 25th, a sorrel filly was euthanized "due to blindness." What? It's so hard to believe that a young horse would be deft and able-bodied enough to mount a frenzied gallop over rock-hard terrain for perhaps several unrelenting miles if she had not been able to see.
As is evident in the accompanying photo (and also in the photos on the BLM's Flickr page), the horses who have not been able to evade capture all look healthy and hearty, and it's obvious that they had been thriving on their native ranges. To know that they are needlessly dying at the hands of interfering human captors is gut-wrenching.
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