Officials Probe Shooting of 6 Wild Horses in Nevada

Six wild horses were shot to death and a week-old foal was left orphaned last week on a remote stretch of federal land in the southeast Nevada desert, federal investigators said Friday.

The Bureau of Land Management posted a $2,000 reward for information leading to those responsible for the illegal killing of the horses in Lincoln County.

The six horses found on BLM land about eight miles west of U.S. 93 apparently were shot last weekend, BLM spokeswoman Maxine Shane said.

Investigators have no suspects and are urging the public to come forward with any information about people in the area last weekend, she said.

The carcasses were found near Pony Springs, not far from Panaca near the Utah border about 100 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

The foal was found alive next to its dead mother, Shane said.

“At first [the foal] didn’t look very good but it is doing better now,” she said.

The BLM is also investigating the shooting of 37 wild horses in southwest Wyoming in December and January, but the cases are not believed to be related.

The BLM typically investigates about one case of wild horse shootings a year in Nevada.

Killing a wild horse is a violation of the federal Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act, punishable by a $2,000 fine or a year in prison or both for each count.

Anyone with information about the shootings may contact the BLM’s Ely office at (775) 289-1800.