Government cruelty breaks a mustang’s spirit

Ashley Avis | Reno Gazette Journal

Published 12:01 p.m. PT Aug. 2, 2024

I can only imagine the panic that overtook the young wild horse this week in Nevada, as she attempted to outrace the helicopter. For her, this was a nightmare commissioned by the Bureau of Land Management, which intended to destroy her freedom. 

It was deeply disturbing back then, but with the federal government failing to intervene, the systemic cruelty has only become more horrific.

One of the advocates managed to capture the catastrophic policies of the BLM in real time, in a video of this terrified wild mustang evading the helicopter in 90-degree heat and then falling, exhausted, as two wranglers were unleashed. One dismounted and began to kick and strike her. When she didn’t move, they tied a rope around her neck and tail, and forced her to her feet. They then sandwiched her between their horses and proceeded to drag her — before she collapsed again, seemingly lifeless.

These same cowboys are employees with Warner Livestock — a company awarded a startling $624,000 by the federal government to inflict this abuse. After more kicking and hitting, the horse was finally forced to her feet.

This incident happened in Northern Nevada, 65 miles northeast of Reno, during an ongoing operation by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Blue Wing Complex on public lands.

Wildlife in the West has long faced mistreatment. This year, many across the nation were outraged when a man in Daniel, Wyoming ran over a wolf with his snowmobile, duct-taped her mouth shut, paraded her around a bar, and then killed her. The incident sparked international outrage, an investigation, the formation of a committee to discuss state statutes, and pending legislation in Congress to ban the use of snowmobiles to kill wolves.

But where is the hope for wild horses? Where is the public outcry for these majestic creatures, who face unthinkable brutality as a norm rather than an exception? Why is there no review, no repercussions, while Nevadan taxpayer dollars are funneled to uphold this cruelty?

Right now, 39 wild horses and burros have perished in the same operation orchestrated by the BLM. Three horses suffered broken necks, one a shattered shoulder; a 12-year-old was euthanized after breaking her leg; and a 16-year-old succumbed to blunt-force trauma after being kicked in the head. Numerous healthy horses were killed for non-life-threatening conditions like blindness or arthritis. Two burros were found dead on transport trucks, likely succumbing to capture myopathy, where animals become so stressed their blood becomes toxic.

The BLM’s helicopter operations are not just inhumane; they are a brutal testament to the callousness of the agency’s policies. Wild horses and burros, symbols of the untamed American spirit, are being sacrificed on the altar of private profit, targeted for removal simply because they compete for resources with the commercial livestock industry. 

Wild horses and burros deserve our grace and protection, not our brutality. Right now, there is a solution that would curtail the abuse — H.R. 3656, The Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act introduced by Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV), which would end the use of aircraft in the roundup of wild horses. This is a strong start to preventing future inhumanity — but we must go further. The BLM should suspend operations in Nevada immediately until they can guarantee that their practices align with their policies.

At the end of the day, the BLM ironically continues to define roundups as “humane” — but kicking a downed horse is the antithesis of that promise to the American public.

Ashley Avis is a filmmaker and director of the Critics’ Choice-nominated documentary, “Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West” along with Disney’s “Black Beauty” and the upcoming “American Wolf” with Leonardo DiCaprio producing. She is the founder of the Wild Beauty Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the wild horses, wolves and wildlife through film, education and advocacy. Avis also has documented wild horse roundups in Nevada and adopted two mustangs from the Silver State.