ROCK SPRINGS – A group of wild horse advocates are protesting against a horse gathering operation in the White Mountain Herd Management Area, but the Bureau of Land Management says the horse populations in the HMA are beyond their population goals and need to be reduced.

The herd management area’s target population is between 205 and 300 horses, but a population estimate by the BLM in 2024 suggests as many as 791 horses are within the area.

A group of protesters stood outside the wild horse containment facility Thursday afternoon and called for an end to the BLM’s horse gathering activities. Madhu Anderson, a local animal rights activist who has previously campaigned against the use of gas chambers at the Rock Springs and Green River animal control offices, said she witnessed low-flying helicopters harass horses during the roundup, referring to what the horses were subjected to as “cruelty.”

“I bore witness to unspeakable cruelty,” she said. 

The BLM says helicopter-assisted horse gatherings are conducted humanely, which was affirmed by a peer-reviewed scientific review of BLM gathers. 

“BLM gathers have proven to be more humane, effective, and efficient than other types of gather methods when large numbers of animals need to be removed over wide areas or rugged terrain, and they lead to lower rates of injury and mortality than comparable capture operations for native big game species,” according to the BLM.

The BLM says helicopters move horses in the right direction and back off between a quarter mile and a half mile to let the animals travel at their own pace, though horses are moved at a faster pace when they need to be turned or as they approach the capture site. The BLM also says helicopter pilots are better than horseback riders at keeping mares and foals together and are more effective at moving horses around ravines, fences and other barriers.

Anderson disagrees with the BLM’s assertion that helicopters are a humane way of gathering horses, saying she watched helicopters run horses for miles to wear them out. She also said the BLM separated families of horses during the operation and didn’t provide them with water.

“They didn’t want to be there,” she said.

Bradford Purdy, a spokesperson for the BLM, said he understands the concerns and emotions people have when it comes to wild horses. However, the gathering operations in the White Mountain HMA were initiated due to the population being higher than the management goals in the area, which is part of the BLM’s duties as part of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. The act outlines how the BLM manages, protects and studies wild horses and burros on public lands.

“We have to gather, that’s part of the law,” he said.

Purdy said a lot of misinformation is spread by activists who are concerned about the wild horses and let their emotions guide their words and actions. 

Anderson said BLM statute 43 CFR §4710.5 allows the agency to halt grazing activities in a herd management area if they chose to. However, Purdy said that would only be considered if the herd population was within its target range and the lands were being negatively impacted, which isn’t the case in the White Mountain HMA. He said the herd management goals and adhering to the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act supersedes that stature Anderson mentioned. Further, Purdy said the BLM doesn’t have jurisdiction over privately-owned lands within the HMA and Union Pacific checkerboard. In a situation where that rule could be enacted, he said the BLM would work with the other landowners to reduce the number of grazing animals in the area as the agency couldn’t simply close all checkerboard land in an HMA to grazing. He said the checkerboard itself presents unique challenges that require partnerships between the BLM and other owners to properly manage.

Anderson said she and others supporting wild horses will continue to watch the BLM.

“We will keep watching them … until they stop this cruelty,” she said.