CNN debuts four-part series on wild horse controversy

Captured paint mare and her foal
at Broken Arrow holding facility
Photo: Cat Kindsfather
No use without express written permission

In today's first segment of "Mustang Roundup: Taking the wild out of the West," a four-part series to be aired on CNN's American Morning, the cable network thrust the controversy over wild horse roundups into renewed national prominence, with a piece about the recent Lahontan "Gather," during which more than 100 mustangs were captured from the 11,000-acre Lahontan Herd Management Area (HMA) east of Carson City, Nevada.  

The one-day Lahontan roundup was held on Wednesday, November 17th, 2010, and CNN reporters Kim Segal andJohn Zarrella were there, along with videographer Carl Mrozac, and several independent observers, including Richard Couto of Animal Recovery Mission, Lacy Dalton of Let 'Em Run Foundation, Bonnie Matton of the Wild Horse Preservation League, and Simone Netherlands of Respect 4 Horses.  They witnessed the chase and entrapment of 117 wild horses, and it's the graphic footage of what happened there that CNN unveiled today.

"In their eyes, you see who they are," intones the narrator of the powerful two-minute piece, "rugged, powerful, independent:  they are the wild mustangs of the American west."

Part of the footage depicts a horrifying sequence in which the helicopter contractor seems to attack a lone burro with the skids of his vehicle, while the voiceover says, "Here, a helicopter chases one single burro, eventually knocking it over.  It staggers off."  The reporters quote Simone Netherlands, who characterizes the helicopter chases as "brutal," adding, "It's barbaric and it does not need to be done this way."

The BLM ultimately determined that two of the "wild" horses it had chased from the Lahontan HMA were privately owned, identifying a mare and her foal who had "domestic brands."  Another yearling colt was euthanized by Dr. Richard Sanford at the Palomino Valley holding facility because he "had an old healed fracture or dislocation involving his right hind fetlock joint.  He was noticeably lame (Grade III) and in much worse body condition (Body Condition II) than his herd mates.  His foot was severely deformed from the injury."

Only seven horses (two stallions and five mares) were released back into the Lahontan HMA a day after their capture, on Thursday, November 18th.

CNN will air Part II of "Mustang Roundup: Taking the wild out of the West" on Tuesday, January 4th, on American Morning.