U.S. Probes Shooting of Wild Horses
Nearly 130 wild horses have been gunned down in isolated areas of Lander County in central Nevada, and there are reports of another eight horses shot in southern Nevada.
The federal Bureau of Land Management said Wednesday the count of horses found shot 30 miles north of the central Nevada town of Austin stands at 87. That is in addition to 41 horses slaughtered 30 miles away.
BLM spokesman Bob Stewart said investigators checked the 87 horse carcasses and bone piles this week and determined all had been hit by rifle fire. He added that it is possible a few more horse remains could be found in the area.
The carcasses and bones, spotted by a helicopter crew last week, are strewn along an area 1 to 2 miles wide and about 8 miles long. The BLM has said the horses apparently were shot over a six-month period starting about one year ago.
The BLM was tipped by a person who was questioned about the earlier rifle slaughter of 41 horses whose remains were discovered in August.
Stewart said the BLM is also sending staffers to the Silver Peak area in southern Nevada to look into a report that eight more wild horses had been shot near a spring in the last several weeks.
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