Wild Horses

Nevada's Wild Horses

I-Team: Madeleine Pickens' Battle to Save Nevada's Wild Horses

Updated:

Thirty thousand wild horses are stacked in government-supported holding facilities. The program costs more than $70 million per year, but an ambitious plan to improve conditions for the horses has been bottled up within the BLM for years, in part because cattle ranchers don't like it. More>>

  • Monday, December 26 2011 12:27 PM EST2011-12-26 17:27:26 GMT
    The head of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Nevada is appealing to agency employees to step up and blow the whistle on any abuse of mustangs.

  • Saturday, May 14 2011 1:57 AM EDT2011-05-14 05:57:01 GMT
    Wild horse advocates packed a Nevada Senate committee hearing Friday to oppose a bill that would exclude wild horses and burros from the definition of wildlife.

  • Saturday, April 23 2011 2:00 AM EDT2011-04-23 06:00:49 GMT
    Wild horse advocates are celebrating the removal of nearly 200 horses from what is described as an abusive situation.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Chief Photojournalist Matt Adams

    Wednesday, March 23 2011 8:35 PM EDT2011-03-24 00:35:43 GMT
    With the financial trouble Nevada is in, you might think state lawmakers would welcome a project that will bring millions of dollars to the state. But a panel in the Nevada Senate has turned thumbs down to a planned wild horse sanctuary without even hearing from the investors who are backing it.

  • Friday, January 14 2011 6:42 PM EST2011-01-14 23:42:22 GMT
    A Nevada wildlife committee is taking on wild horses and water they drink on the range.

  • Tuesday, January 4 2011 6:37 PM EST2011-01-04 23:37:05 GMT
    Nevada's wild horses have been at the center of controversy for years, but the debate is now getting more attention because of a meeting going on in Las Vegas this week with people who want to round up the horses and slaughter them for food.

  • Wednesday, November 3 2010 12:43 PM EDT2010-11-03 16:43:41 GMT
    The Bureau of Land Management says it is suspending plans to round up more than 100 wild horses late this month from a northern Nevada range at the Hawthorne Army Depot.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Chief Photojournalist Matt Adams

    Tuesday, September 21 2010 8:15 PM EDT2010-09-22 01:15:28 GMT
    BLM management has come under severe criticism from wild horse advocates who allege the agency seems to be morphing a public program into a private, off-limits undertaking. In his Street Talk commentary, George Knapp tells us about BLM attempts to drop a veil over the wild horse program.

  • Monday, September 13 2010 11:49 AM EDT2010-09-13 16:49:04 GMT
    Wild horse advocates are calling for a federal investigation into allegations that the Bureau of Land Management sold 172 wild mustangs to slaughter houses.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Chief Photojournalist Matt Adams

    Thursday, September 2 2010 10:22 PM EDT2010-09-03 03:22:54 GMT
    Government contractors have fired up their helicopters for yet another roundup of Nevada wild horses. Four more roundup operations are on the schedule in our state this year. They will not only thin the herds, but wipe them out altogether.

  • Wednesday, August 11 2010 10:00 PM EDT2010-08-12 03:00:55 GMT
    Philanthropist and businesswoman Madeleine Pickens says she is one step closer to her dream of a sprawling sanctuary for wild horses to be built in northern Nevada.

  • Wednesday, August 11 2010 10:27 AM EDT2010-08-11 15:27:27 GMT
    A federal appeals court has cleared the way for the government roundup of more than 2,000 wild horses in California and Nevada.

  • Thursday, August 5 2010 5:36 PM EDT2010-08-05 22:36:42 GMT
    One day after the Bureau of Land Management announced 34 horses died in their latest roundup, they are now asking for your input on their scheduled roundups for next year.

  • Wednesday, August 4 2010 2:54 PM EDT2010-08-04 19:54:24 GMT
    Federal officials say 34 wild horses died or were euthanized during a roundup of animals from parched rangeland in northeastern Nevada.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp

    Monday, August 2 2010 7:18 PM EDT2010-08-03 00:18:29 GMT
    The contractor for the Bureau of Land Management is denying they are intentionally keeping wild horse advocates from observing roundups.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Chief Photojournalist Matt Adams

    Thursday, July 22 2010 2:00 AM EDT2010-07-22 07:00:04 GMT
    A wild horse roundup in northern Nevada has ended, for now. Phase one of the Tuscarora Gather captured 636 horses, but 21 mustangs died during the operation, mostly from a combination of stress, heat, and dehydration.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Chief Photojournalist Matt Adams

    Tuesday, July 20 2010 8:03 PM EDT2010-07-21 01:03:57 GMT
    Wild horse advocates have accused the Bureau of Land Management of contempt, because the agency went to extraordinary lengths to keep the public from being able to observe a horse roundup over the past few days in which 21 mustangs died.

  • Wednesday, July 14 2010 5:11 PM EDT2010-07-14 22:11:43 GMT
    A federal judge has scheduled an emergency hearing on a temporary restraining order sought by animal rights advocates to halt a wild horse roundup in northeast Nevada. U.S.

  • Monday, July 12 2010 11:35 PM EDT2010-07-13 04:35:10 GMT
    The Bureau of Land Management has suspended a wild horse gather in northeast Nevada after seven animals died of dehydration. Animal rights activists were outraged.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Chief Photojournalist Matt Adams

    Wednesday, July 7 2010 8:12 PM EDT2010-07-08 01:12:50 GMT
    The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has put a laser focus on BP and their operations all over the planet. Turns out, the oil giant has left a trail of toxic waste in Nevada. But is there also a BP link to wild horse roundups?

  • Tuesday, June 22 2010 10:45 PM EDT2010-06-23 03:45:56 GMT
    A horse protection advocate is asking the FBI to step in to prevent the sale or transport of nearly 2,000 mustangs the government removed from Nevada rangeland until federal managers verify enough were left behind to sustain the wild herd.

  • Monday, May 24 2010 11:21 PM EDT2010-05-25 04:21:18 GMT
    A federal judge Monday officially dismissed a lawsuit brought by animal rights activists over a big wild horse roundup in northern Nevada, saying the case was moot and plaintiffs lacked standing.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Photojournalist Matt Adams

    Friday, April 16 2010 8:58 PM EDT2010-04-17 01:58:11 GMT
    The Calico Hills wild horse roundup has been characterized by the Bureau of Land Management as a huge success. But wild horse advocates say it was a disaster, and one that grows worse every day.

  • Friday, March 19 2010 11:01 PM EDT2010-03-20 03:01:01 GMT
    Activists are questioning the rising death toll from a controversial government roundup of wild horses from the range north of Reno.

  • Wednesday, March 10 2010 9:00 PM EST2010-03-11 02:00:49 GMT
    The U.S. Attorney's Office in Nevada charged two men on Wednesday for killing five wild horses on federal land.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Photojournalist Matt Adams

    Friday, February 12 2010 2:29 PM EST2010-02-12 19:29:46 GMT
    One of the largest wild horse roundups in Nevada history is over. The Bureau of Land Management says it gathered more than 2,000 mustangs from the sprawling Calico Range in Northern Nevada, but that's far fewer than the agency expected to capture.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Photojournalist Matt Adams

    Friday, February 12 2010 12:38 PM EST2010-02-12 17:38:48 GMT
    The fate of thousands of Nevada's wild horses was on the line Wednesday in the nation's capital. Advocates for the horses asked a federal judge to stop a massive roundup planned for later this month in northern Nevada.

  • Friday, January 29 2010 11:17 PM EST2010-01-30 04:17:34 GMT
    Wild-horse advocates criticized federal land managers after the number of mustang deaths so far in a government roundup on the range north of Reno nearly tripled from a week ago, going from nine to 26.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Chief Photojournalist Matt Adams

    On Saturday the award winning I-Team aired a special detailing the long history of alleged mismanagement in the BLM's wild horse and burro program. Inside, find all six segments of the special, links and WEB EXTRAS.

  • Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Chief Photojournalist Matt Adams

    Harry Reid has been grappling with wild horse issues ever since he went to Washington, and it's still a mess. Wild horse advocate Madeleine Pickens thinks she has a long term solution.

  • Wild horse and humane animal advocacy groups from across the nation are joining forces for to encourage the American public to consider and act on the adoption of a wild horse or burro. A goal of 1,000 adoptions has been set for the first National Wild Horse Adoption Day to be held September 26, 2009.

  • The Bureau of Land Management's perpetually-troubled wild horse program has struck a deal with the bureau's most vocal critics. Inside, read about the latest plan.

  • Nevada's wild horses benefited for decades from money left to them by a Californian whose relatives said he was insane. Those funds finally are being used up, but lawmakers were told Friday the horses have another deep-pockets benefactor.

  • Legislation was introduced Thursday in Congress that would prevent the U.S. Bureau of Land Management from killing otherwise healthy wild horses and burros that roam Western states.

  • George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter

    The wife of Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens is riding to the rescue of Nevada's wild horse herds. Madeleine Pickens has a bold plan that would not only save the horses, but would get taxpayers out of a jam as well. Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp has the story.

  • The wife of Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens said Tuesday she'll create a refuge for wild horses, after the federal agency that manages the animals said it may have to kill some to control the herds and protect the Western range.

  • George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter

    Advocates for wild horses are mobilizing. They want to stop what they fear will be the eradication of thousands of horses. Now a high-profile celebrity might help the horse advocates hold off the BLM. The I-Team's George Knapp sat down with singer and horse advocate Sheryl Crow.

  • The U.S. Bureau of Land Management needs to consider euthanizing wild horses or selling off large numbers of the animals to reduce spiraling costs of keeping them in long-term holding pens, a government report issued Monday said.

  • George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter

    At a first-of-its-kind horse summit this weekend, experts declared that the only way for wild horses to survive on public lands is for the BLM to change the direction of its management program. Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp has the latest.

  • George Knapp, Investigative Reporter

    A top official in the BLM's troubled wild horse program has been slapped with a criminal complaint. Suzie Stokke has been accused of threatening a Nevada family that was trying to buy a wild horse. Inside, find a link to the complaint.

  • George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter

    It took an entire year and tens of thousands of dollars for the government to figure out the reason why 71 wild horses died, but some questions still remain. Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp takes a look.

  • It took a full year, but the BLM has finally issued a report about what killed 71 wild horses at the Tonopah Test Range last summer.

  • George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter

    One year ago this week, dozens of wild horses were found dead on the Tonopah Test Range. The BLM and Air Force announced at the time that a full investigation would be launched to find out the cause of death. Twelve months later, the public is still waiting for answers. The I-Team's George Knapp broke the story last year and is here with an update.

  • George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter

    Wild horse groups are outraged over plans by the BLM to euthanize thousands of wild horses that have been captured. BLM says it has no choice but to put horses to death because it can no longer afford to feed the ones it already has. But is that the truth? Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp takes a look.

  • A House leader has come out against a federal proposal to euthanize wild horses and asked a federal agency to delay a decision on the animals' fate. Congressman Nick Rahall is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.

  • Euthanizing wild horses and ending roundups are two drastic policy changes being considered to deal with a growing number of wild horses on the range and in holding facilities, a federal official said Monday.

  • The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will conduct an emergency roundup of more than 330 wild horses from a herd in northern Nevada, citing limited water and forage for the animals.

  • The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced plans Wednesday to gather about 1,700 wild horses from the Nevada range, citing ongoing drought, dwindling forage and an over abundance of animals in three herd management areas.

  • About 50 demonstrators showed up Wednesday at the Nevada Capitol to protest what they fear could be a state Agriculture Department roundup of about 1,200 wild horses near the old mining town of Virginia City.

  • The BLM is pushing back test results that might reveal why 71 horses died of nitrate poisoning on the Tonopah Test Range in July. The BLM now says they won't have test results from the water until April.

  • The BLM is extending to December 7, 2007, the deadline for submitting public nominations to fill three vacancies on the national Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board.

  • More than 30,000 wild horses are now being held in government pens, which is more horses than exist out on the open range. Here are a few KLAS-TV file photos of wild horses on the open range.

  • George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter

    Nevada's wild horses and burros could get a boost later this week when something new arrives on your breakfast table. Anderson Dairy is riding to the rescue of the horses with a first-of-its-kind outreach effort. Inside, find sources on how to adopt wild horses and burros. 

  • Nevada's BLM is rounding up more wild horses than ever before. In fact, there are now more wild horses in government pens than there are in the wild. So what does it cost to mount all of these roundups? Apparently, the BLM doesn't know.

  • Wild horse advocates hope to put a small dent in a big problem this weekend when they make horses and burros available for adoption. Right now, there are more wild horses in government pens than still roam the open ranges of Nevada and other states. Inside, find details & links.

  • George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter

    Nevada Senator Harry Reid wants to know what killed 71 wild horses on the Nellis Air Force Base Range. The BLM says high concentrations of nitrates killed the horses. Read on for a link to Sen. Reid's letter to the Secretary of Defense and the Interior.

  • George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter

    The BLM and Air Force have a mystery on their hands -- what killed 71 wild horses up on the Nellis Range? Government scientists say a chemical in the water is what killed the horses, but they have no idea how it got there. Only the I-Team's George Knapp has the story.

  • The Bureau of Land Management will conduct an emergency round up to save more than 200 wild horses. Lack of water and severe temperatures have dried up the horses' existing water supply. The herd is

  • George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter

    Valley residents will have the chance to own a symbol of the Old West this weekend. The BLM is holding an auction and adoption for horses and burros gathered from Nevada ranges over the past year. Read on for details and see photos of some of the hopeful adoptees.

  • The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles has issued the first license plates honoring the state's wild horses and burros.

  • George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter

    Wild horses advocates suspect that the drastic horse roundups Nevada has seen in recent months are related to the news that the BLM budget is being cut. Read on for upcoming adoption events and links to wild horse protection groups.

  • The U.S. House Thursday voted to prevent the government from selling off for slaughter any wild horses and burros that roam public lands in the West.

  • George Knapp, Investigative Reporter

    A wild horse advocacy group had wild mustangs on display at this year's Clark County Fair and hopes to find homes for them. The I-Team's George Knapp reports getting the government permission to do this wasn't easy. 

  • Late Thursday, lawyers for wild horse advocates asked a federal judge to put an end to the current roundup. A similar request was rejected by Federal Court Judge Kent Dawson. Read on for links to the motion and complaint documents.

  • Edward Lawrence, Reporter

    A federal court judge Tuesday refused to stop round ups of wild horses and burros that roam government land in Southern Nevada. But advocates for the horses say the fight isn't over yet.

  • Edward Lawrence, Reporter

    Last week it was burros. Now, this week the Bureau of Land Management is rounding up wild horses. The cowboys started Sunday and put their operation into full swing Monday. Channel 8 Eyewitness News has exclusive video of the round-up outside Cold Creek.

  • Edward Lawrence, Reporter

    The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service have started rounding up wild horses and burros from the Spring Mountains. Meanwhile, wild horse advocates have filed another emergency lawsuit to stop it. Read on for links to those documents & to the BLM's adoption schedule.

  • George Knapp, Investigative Reporter

    The Wild Horse Adoption Program is in disarray, which is bad news not only for wild horses, but for taxpayers who are footing a multi-million dollar bill each year. Find out how you can help.

  • Advocates for wild horses say the deal was cut in secrecy and that once it goes through, there is no way to check on what happens to the horses.

  • Atle Erlingsson, Reporter

    A battle is underway to save the lives of thousands of wild horses who may be headed to slaughter houses instead of being adopted out.

  • George Knapp, Investigative Reporter

    Wild horse advocates are bracing for what they say could be the slaughter of thousands of horses now being held in government sanctuaries.

  • A top Democrat in the House wants to repeal a new law that changes what can be done with wild horses around the country. Read on for more.

  • The Nevada Cattlemen's Assoc. backs the idea but animal welfare activists are urging President Bush to veto legislation within H.R. 4818 allowing the BLM to sell unwanted wild horses for slaughter. The signature date is Dec. 6.

  • Wild horse advocates say they're worried that healthy horses rounded up on the range could be sold for slaughter under a herd-thinning measure Congress passed over the weekend.

  • Governor Kenny Guinn is appealing to Congress for help to control our state's wild horse population. As the I-Team has reported over the past few weeks, the state's wild horse population is much bigger than what the range land can support, which puts both the range and the horses in jeopardy.

  • George Knapp, I-Team Reporter

    Hundreds of wild horses and burros were rounded up in Southern Nevada last week. BLM officials claim most of the animals will eventually be adopted out to good homes, but those claims are not supported by BLM's track record.

  • The Bureau of Land Management will round up hundreds of horses next week despite a lawsuit filed to stop them.

  • Aaron Drawhorn, Reporter

    The Bureau of Land Management is under fire once again from wild horse advocates. One group fighting for the protection of the animals is blaming the BLM for the recent deaths of two wild horses in Cold Creek.

  • George Knapp, Investigative Reporter

    A planned roundup of wild horses in the Spring Mountains -- set to begin next week -- could be stopped if wild horse advocates are granted an injunction. The I-Team's George Knapp has the latest developments. Read on for a link to the full request for injunction.

  • Government plans to round up hundreds of wild horses from the area around Cold Creek, Nevada are about to hit a snag. Wild horse advocates say they will go to court to stop the roundup. Read on for more wild horse-related stories.

  • Wild horse advocates meet in Las Vegas to discuss and share ideas to help boost adoption of the animals.

  • George Knapp, Investigative Reporter

    A horrifying incident involving a wild horse has galvanized the tiny community of Cold Creek, just north of Las Vegas. Residents are already on edge about wild horses because of Bureau of Land Management plans to round up most of the herds that live in the area.

  • The Bureau of Land Management has announced plans to conduct an emergency roundup of about 100 wild horses around the Clan Alpine Mountains of northern Nevada.   

  • The BLM has rounded up more than 500 wild horses from northeastern Nevada rangeland devastated by wildfires, the agency said Tuesday.   

  • George Knapp, Investigative Reporter

    You wouldn't think a wild mustang could qualify for police work. But Metro's horse team has a new opinion based on time spent with one wild horse named Forever Steel adopted from a government pen on a trial basis to see if he measures up. The I-Team's George Knapp is here with Part 3 of the series.   

  • George Knapp, Investigative Reporter

    Thousands of horses are stockpiled in government corrals after being rounded up by the BLM in Nevada. Is there a way to find them a home? The I-Team's George Knapp has part 2 of this story.

  • George Knapp, Investigative Reporter

    Nevada is home to more than half of all the wild horses in the nation, but the number of horses on the open range has plummeted, mostly because of the BLM's large-scale roundups. These horses then end up in large holding pens in other states. The I-Team checked out one of the closest facilities.

  • Wild horses are up for adoption in northern Nevada and you can be part of the auction through the Internet.

  • Adrian Arambulo, Reporter

    On the outskirts of the Las Vegas valley is a place where wild horses are supposed to live and thrive. But instead there are malnourished horses, dead and rotting horses, and contaminated water sources. Reporter Adrain Arambulo has part 2 of this story.

  • Adrian Arambulo, Reporter

    The pictures are shocking, malnourished horses, feeding areas clogged with debris and wild animals neglected and left for dead. Eyewitness News reporter Adrian Arambulo went out to see first-hand the shameful neglect of Nevada's wild horses.

  • About 300 wild horses are being gathered from the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in northern Nevada despite objections from wild horse advocacy groups.

  • The U-S House of Representatives is moving to stop the Department of the Interior from selling wild horses for slaughter. Read on for related links.

  • A $15,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the conviction of people responsible for the shooting deaths of three mustangs in northern Washoe County.

  • The prognosis was good Sunday for a wild horse found suffering from hypothermia after being abandoned at birth by its mother in the high desert of northern Nevada.

  • More than two-dozen wild Nevada horses have been captured. Some will be re-released, but others will shipped to a holding facility in California. Horse advocates criticize fear the wild horses will end up being sold for slaughter.

  • The BLM plans to move most of the wild horse herd out of Red Rock Canyon, but wild horse advocates say it is unnecessary and they claim the agency will not repopulate the herd.

  • The government is trying to find homes for almost 500 wild horses after the buyer cancelled contracts to send the animals for slaughter.

  • George Knapp, Investigative Reporter

    The last remaining herd of wild horses living in the Red Rock Canyon area may soon be removed by the BLM, according to wild horse advocates.

  • The U.S. House voted Wednesday to stop the slaughter of American horses to feed diners in European and Asian nations where the meat is considered gourmet fare.

  • The Nevada state quarter will feature wild horses. State Treasurer Brian Krolikci announced the winning design.

  • The federal government will allow sales of wild horses to resume with some added protections aimed at keeping the animals from being slaughtered. Find links to contact Nevada's U.S. Congressmen.

  • Lawmakers have brought in a coalition of celebrities and race track owners in hopes of pushing forward legislation to end or limit the slaughter of wild horses.

  • Animal activists are criticizing the BLM for allowing six previously protected wild horses to be slaughtered. They say it's proof federal safeguards repealed last year need to be reinstated.

  • George Knapp, Investigative Reporter

    Horse lovers will soon get a chance to own a living piece of western history. Thirty-five wild horses will be put up for auction and adoption in about two weeks.
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