Horses are being found dead as feds are rounding them up to control overpopulation

By T.J. Wilham

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    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — Hundreds, if not thousands, of wild horses are roaming the New Mexico desert and are being rounded up and, at times, shot and left for dead.

The federal government says New Mexico is overcrowded with them, but advocates say they’re wrong and should be left alone.

State officials say they have no jurisdiction when it comes to people who could be killing horses in the open desert.

According to data obtained by Target 7, There are an estimated 272 horses roaming 28,000 acres of land owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. That does not include lands owned by the state and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

BLM says their lands can only support about 83 horses,

And there are more issues. According to state traffic data, from 2016 to 2020, horses were involved in 307 crashes in New Mexico, with two of them being fatal

“If we did nothing, they would overrun the ranch, and they would eventually starve to death, be out of water, then run out of (food),” Crystal Cowan, of the Burau of Land Management, said. “It takes a lot to feed a horse. So, yeah, it would certainly overrun the land.”

So, the BLM is rounding up horses and taking them to auction. At a recent auction in Clovis, they brought 120 steeds, and ranchers and horse lovers made to buy one for as little as $125.

“Our gatherers in New Mexico are usually bait, trap, and usually the horses come in for water and then the gate is shut,” Cowan said. “So it’s not as glamorous as some may think.”

Avid horse lover Nastayzia Freitas bought a horse at the Clovis auction for $310. It was the most anyone had paid.

After going through an application process in which she had to prove she could care for the horse, she was able to walk out with her. It is her first time buying a wild horse. The horses are sold untrained and unbroken

“We just want to help with the overpopulation of all the horses. And then we can also provide a good home,” she said. “So they’ll be loving and loved for. Definitely spoiled with treats.”

In what he said would help fight climate change, President Joe Biden included in his budget a $16 million increase to the BLM to round up more wild horses in 10 western states, including New Mexico.

He also restricted any federal funds from being used to slaughter horses. BLM limits people at auction from buying more than four horses.

Rancher Patrick Romo bought four horses he plans to use on his ranch to help round up cattle.

“It cleans everything up,” Romo said. “It allows us to use the horses that weren’t being used, and it takes them off land that they were being detrimental to.”

Judy Barnes sometimes goes to those auctions. She does it not to ride or breed but to free the horses.

“They need to run free and live their life,” said Barnes, who founded the nonprofit The Spirit of the Wild Horse. “They’re just the most magnificent animals you’ve ever seen.”

Barnes owns 40 acres of land on the Colorado-New Mexico state line and sets them free. She is doing it because she believes that some horses that go to auction eventually get slaughtered.

She also believes people are shooting and killing horses in order to protect their cattle She has traveled through the open deserts of northern New Mexico and has pictures of horse remains left in the desert.

She led Target 7 investigators to a large pit she found. Using a drone, Target 7 was able to find the remains of numerous horse remains.

“You don’t make money off the horses, really,” she said .”You make the money off the cattle. And so they want to have as many cattle out on the land as they can. Or like here, this is alfalfa growing, so they don’t want the horses in the alfalfa fields. “If the horse goes on your land, technically, it’s yours.”

Barnes said she has alerted federal officials as well as state authorities in New Mexico and Colorado.

Target 7 reached out to numerous state agencies and was told none of them have jurisdiction to investigate the killings of wild horses, nor do they keep track of how many horses roam state land.

Officials from the Department of Game and Fish said the animals are not considered wildlife.

And the state’s Livestock Board said a 20-year-old court ruling prohibits them from getting involved because the animals are not owned.

Target also reached out to the BLM.

“That was the first I’ve heard,” Cowan said. “Yeah, which is very sad.”

Cowan said federal law prohibits the abuse of wild horses on federal lands, but it does not apply to state or privately owned property.

Meanwhile, wild horses are still being rounded up by the federal government and Barnes. Both say they want to protect them, not kill them

“They’re the heritage of the country,” Barnes said. “And, it’s just– it’s a situation that just has to stop.”

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