Dear Jack,

Last week, we reached out to let you know that the first round up of the year was underway — an emergency wild horse roundup in Nevada — and that American Wild Horse Conservation had placed observers on the ground to independently document the operation.

One of our core commitments is to deploy independent observers to every roundup possible. Because roundup operations move quickly and access is often restricted, our presence on the ground helps ensure there is transparency when decisions are made in real time — and that what happens to wild horses is witnessed, documented, and made part of the public record.

Now that the first roundup of 2026 has concluded, Jack, we wanted to share a brief update with what our team saw on the ground: 

• Over several days, approximately 180 wild horses were captured and removed from the range and seven horses were euthanized. 
• Our observers documented horses being driven by helicopter into trap sites in cold winter conditions, showing visible signs of exhaustion and distress. 
• During sorting and loading, horses panicked in confined pens, with some attempting to climb over one another. Observers were repeatedly denied access to temporary holding facilities, preventing independent assessment of horses’ condition after removal.

Pictured: Distressed wild horses climbing on top of each other at the trap site

The Bureau of Land Management carried out the roundup of the Owyhee Complex under “emergency authority” — a designation that allowed the agency to move forward quickly, with limited public notice and little opportunity for meaningful public oversight. As we’ve seen repeatedly, when the BLM invokes emergency authority, transparency is often one of the first things to disappear.

Despite these restrictions, and because of the resources supporters like you provide, Jack, AWHC was prepared to respond on short notice, and place trained observers onsite to document the roundup from start to finish.

The full Owyhee Complex Roundup Report is now available. You can read the final report to see exactly what our observers documented, from daily observations, to animal welfare concerns, and access limitations encountered during the operation.

Thank you for standing with us,

AWHC Team

P.S. Your generosity puts boots on the ground to make this observation work possible. Please consider making a donation to AWHC’s Observation Fund to ensure we can continue providing independent oversight wherever and whenever wild horses are at risk.