April 5, 2019
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) - Hundreds of horse advocates galloped from all over the country to the Bureau of Land Management state office in Salt Lake City Friday.
They saddled up to protest the mass removal of the Onaqui wild horses.
Protesters say they are Utah’s most iconic and visited wild horse herd and are located on public lands near Tooele.
As early as July, protesters say the BLM plans to round up and remove over 400 wild horses.
“We are hoping the BLM will agree with us that we are managing wild horse humanely through birth control out in the field so it doesn't cost the taxpayer any money because these roundups are cruel, unsustainable and are not unnecessary,” said Simone Netherlands, president of Salt River Wild Horse Management Group.
Officials say more than 500 wild horses live on more than 240,000 acres of designated public land outside of Tooele.
