BLM concluded the Red Rock HMA Wild Horse and Burro bait and water gather operation

The Bureau of Land Management concluded the FY2024 Red Rock Herd Management Area Wild Horse and Burro bait and water gather near Las Vegas, Nev., on May 11, 2024. The BLM gathered 115 wild horses and 70 burros and removed 100 excess wild horses and 70 burros from public lands; removed animals include any mortalities. In addition, the BLM will release back to the range seven mares treated with GonaCon Equine, a population suppression control vaccine, in about 30 days. Gather operations were conducted using the water and bait trap method.

The purpose of the gather was to prevent undue or unnecessary degradation of the public lands associated with excess wild horses, and to restore a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship on public lands, consistent with the provisions of Section 1333(b) of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The action was needed to achieve appropriate management levels within the Red Rock HMA.

“This gather allowed us to manage wild horses and burros in the Red Rock Herd Management Area at an appropriate management level for the area and brings herd size more in line with what the resources of the area can support” said Nicholas Pay, Pahrump Field Manager.

The BLM transported the animals removed from the range to the Ridgecrest Regional Wild Horse and Burro Corrals in Ridgecrest, Calif., to be readied for the BLM’s wild horse and burro Adoption and Sales Program. Wild horses and burros not adopted or sold will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

Additional gather information is available on the BLM website at https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/gathers-and-removals/southern-nevada-do-pahrump-fo.