Officials say wild horses recovering

RENO -- Wild horses that became ill and forced the temporary shutdown of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Wild Horse and Burro Center north of Reno are recovering and gaining strength, officials said Wednesday.

So far, 156 of the 983 horses gathered in late August and early September from the Jackson Mountains in northwest Nevada have died or been euthanized, BLM spokesman Doran Sanchez said.

"They're in a separate pen away from the other animals while they're recuperating," Sanchez said. "The remaining animals are doing quite well."

The BLM closed the center in Palomino Valley about 20 miles north of Reno on Sept. 26 after 130 animals died.

Officials said closing the facility to the public was a preventive measure because salmonella bacteria found in some of the horses can infect people and domestic animals.

The center's 160 acres of corrals serve as a national holding facility for as many as 1,650 animals the BLM rounds up from public rangeland to be vaccinated and marked while awaiting shipment under the agency's wild horse adoption program.

Sanchez said employees at the center are using bio-safety protocols to prevent the spread of disease, including disinfecting vehicles and equipment, wearing protective clothing and washing hands frequently. No workers have become ill.

Officials said the horses were unhealthy when they were rounded up. Many were thin and weak because of a lack of food and water caused by drought.

Their weakened state, combined with pneumonia and severe diarrhea related to salmonella, led to their deaths, said Dr. Al Kane, a veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

He blamed the pneumonia last month on dust and lack of moisture, compounded by wide fluctuations in fall temperatures from the 30s at night to the high 70s during the day.