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.
This is taking place on federal land and one group is arguing that the federal government is trying to phase out the same wild horses they're supposed to be managing.
A representative from the Bureau of Land Management, the group that manages the horses, sat down and talked with Eyewitness News.
On a recent visit to an area where wild horses are supposed to live, a wild horse advocate group found only one horse, and it was dead. In addition, water tanks that connect to the horses' drinking supply are in shoddy shape.
"But the problem is these animals can't wait, they have no voice, they have no one to advocate for them," says Laurie Howard with Wild Horses Forever, a wild horse advocate group. Howard says the federal government is just trying to save money.
"They want to get rid of these animals so they don't have to manage them. But America takes a huge loss, Las Vegas takes a huge loss, it's part of our history, it's how we got here." Howard blames the situation on BLM, an agency that gets tax dollars to manage the horses.
The BLM denies claims it's phasing the horses out. Karla Norris with BLM's Las Vegas office says there are plans to move some horses from certain areas to ensure they survive and don't destroy the environment.
"But if they can't survive, we can't let them starve to death out there. We can't let them have such an impact on the resources that they destroy the very springs they're dependent on," Norris said. As for that dead horse left in the desert, Norris said they are required to leave them out there. "It's a natural system," she said.
New water tanks are on order to replace the ones infested with bugs. Though the BLM is looking for volunteers to help and it's been about a year since a fire damaged the tanks. "They get dirty in this environment, the animals do fall in, it is a concern, but we haven't had any cases of West Nile reported here," says Norris. The BLM is now on the record clearly stating: "Zeroing out all the horses in Southern Nevada is not true."
Wild horse advocates are worried about plans to gather, or round up, horses here in Southern Nevada in January. Advocates believe if this happens, this area will lose the majority of it's wild horses. The BLM confirms the plans do exist, but say wild horses will remain in at least two nearby areas.
The BLM says it is looking to establish a relationship with the National Wild Horse Association to help establish a regular monitoring and maintenance schedule of the horses and the land they live on.
To learn more about Wild Horses Forever and their efforts, you can call 702-398-7799. Please note that you have to dial 702.
Send feedback to reporter adrian arambulo at aarambulo@klastv.com
Karla Norris with BLM's Las Vegas office says there are plans to move some horses from certain areas to ensure they survive and don't destroy the environment.
