12 wild horses die during BLM roundup
CARSON CITY -- Twelve wild horses have now died in a Nevada roundup directed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, half of them colts and mares.
The BLM on Wednesday said four more animals died or were put down because of dehydration or water intoxication. The agency also announced emergency measures to truck water to large bands of horses still on the range in the roundup area.
A federal judge scheduled a hearing for today in Reno on a temporary restraining order sought by animal rights advocates to halt the roundup in northern Elko County.
The BLM suspended the gather over the weekend when seven horses died of dehydration and water intoxication after being herded by helicopter on the first day of the roundup. Another horse broke a leg and was put down.
Two more animals died Monday and two others were euthanized "because of complications related to water starvation and water intoxication," the agency said.
Horse protection groups have voiced outrage, saying the deaths were predictable, given sweltering summer temperatures and the weakened state of colts and mares that recently gave or were about to give birth.
Heather Emmons, a BLM spokeswoman in Reno, said the horses otherwise looked healthy.
