Last week, we alerted you to a highly contagious and deadly infectious disease outbreak occurring in real time at the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Cañon City holding facility in Colorado. In just the last 11 days, at least 124 wild horses have died in these holding pens — making this possibly the deadliest disease outbreak in BLM history.
Nearly 2,500 wild horses are confined in this facility and remain at risk — please speak up for them now by calling on your members of Congress to demand an investigation into the BLM’s holding corrals.
Since we last emailed you, the BLM was able to identify the virus that has killed dozens of these cherished animals — Equine Influenza Virus (EIV) — a virus that the BLM is supposed to vaccinate wild horses and burros against once they are rounded up and removed from the wild.
The BLM reported that the 124 mustangs killed were either entirely unvaccinated or only partially-vaccinated against the deadly virus even though they had been at the facility for over 9 months.
At the same time, an active disease outbreak is occurring at the BLM’s off range holding corrals in Wheatland, Wyoming, where a highly contagious bacterial infection that causes strangles has so far infected half of the 2,750 horses confined there.
This developing situation raises serious concerns about the conditions in the BLM’s off-range holding system where 59,749 wild horses and 862 wild burros are being held — and we deserve answers.
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Thanks for your help, David.
— AWHC Team