Wild horses run close to Wendover, Utah, on Aug. 19, 2011. The taking pictures deaths of 16 wild horses from a high-powered rifle in San Juan County proceed to stay unsolved and are much like different wild horse shootings in two separate places in Arizona. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Information
The taking pictures deaths of 16 wild horses from a high-powered rifle in San Juan County proceed to stay unsolved and are much like different wild horse shootings in two separate places in Arizona.
“We demand a radical investigation by the Bureau of Land Administration and San Juan County officers to find out who's taking pictures these stunning wild horses,” mentioned Lynda Logan, of Advocates for Wild Equines. “This can be a very critical case of animal cruelty, and the perpetrators have to be stopped and dropped at justice earlier than extra horses are brutally killed.”
What’s occurred: Logan mentioned the 16 horses have been discovered alongside state Route 162 between Montezuma Creek and Bluff. The primary physique was found on Jan. 3 by native resident Wayne Yanito.
“I used to be on my option to work once I observed the primary horse, a paint. I went to take a better look and noticed apparent gunshot wounds. As I drove to greater floor, I noticed the our bodies of extra horses who have been shot to loss of life,” Yanito mentioned, including the incident was reported to San Juan County officers however the shootings have continued.
Whose horses are they? Logan mentioned there aren't any herd administration areas in that a part of Utah, so it's potential that the wild horses crossed the San Juan River onto BLM’s grazing lease allotments from the Navajo Nation or migrated there from the canyons and forests to the west, the place wild horses have been noticed. The unbranded horses have been discovered on a number of BLM grazing allotments.
An overabundance of so-called “tribal horses” at one time led the Navajo Nation to think about a “hunt” wherein members may purchase a $10 tag to kill a feral horse. Public strain led to its cancellation.
“Many of the our bodies have been near the street, and these horses may have simply been shot from a car. We counted 16 our bodies however needed to go house when the solar went down. There could possibly be extra, and we are going to proceed to comb the realm. There isn't a cause for these mindless killings, no love for horses, and we hope the shooter will likely be recognized and dropped at justice,” mentioned Curtis Yanito, who helped his brother final weekend to search out extra our bodies.
Logan mentioned the shootings are much like the latest killing of not less than 25 horses on U.S. Forest Service land in Alpine, Arizona, in addition to the shootings of untamed horses in Heber, Arizona.
At this level, it's unclear if the BLM has launched an investigation. Logan mentioned anybody with info ought to contact her at 480-888-5019 or electronic mail coreteam@advocatesforwildequines.com. Tipsters can stay nameless.