In 2023 , reports show that 267 wild horses died at Nevada’s Fallon (Indian Lakes) Off-Range Holding Corral. The facility is the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) largest short-term holding facility in Nevada.
The corrals have an average population of just over 3,000 horses and a capacity to keep over 7,000. Based on these numbers, in 2023 alone, 11% of the population died.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents obtained by the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) showed, in part that:
- 23 horses died before they were branded, vaccinated and entered into the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro program’s system.
- 28 horses died from gelding complications; gelding is a routine procedure with a low mortality rate in domestic horses.
- 30 horses died due to treatable conditions like eye abnormalities and cryptorchidism.
- 49 lives were lost due to severe injuries, including broken bones.
- 106 horses were deceased from unknown causes. The records stated all of them were “found dead in their pens.”
AWHC also recently uncovered 23 wild horse deaths in just 24 days due to suspected botulism poisoning at a different Nevada holding facility.
In 2022, widespread reporting revealed a horrendous outbreak of Equine Influenza at a Colorado holding facility which left 145 wild horses dead.