Story by Jayne Hanson of havasunews.com
57 Wild Burros Taken in Arizona
Captured Wild Burros by Jayne Hanson
A wild burro round up effort recently wrapped up after Bureau of Land Management officials successfully captured 57 burros north of Lake Havasu City, AZ— in 11 days.
“We’ve stopped for now,” said BLM wild horse and burro specialist Chad Benson. “The last burros were captured on Oct. 11.”
According to earlier reports, the round up officially began with the successful capture of 15 burros Oct. 1. Another 14 head were captured Oct. 2 bringing the total to 29 burros in two days.
In the end, the 57 wild burros included 22 “Jacks,” or males; 21 “Jennies,” or females; and 14 colts. A wild burro is considered a colt up to the age of one year, Benson said.
“I was kind of surprised, you know, but you just never know,” he said. “You can go in there and get an idea on how many there are. I knew there were a lot of burros in there so I knew there were about 50 head in there, give or take.”
Benson said there are still wild burros in the desert area north of Havasu but they are living in rough country near the Colorado River.
“They’re just not coming out to find the bait traps near the highway,” he said. “We are done in that area for now. If we have more problems then we’ll go back in and assess the situation. But for now, we’ve taken as many as we can.”
In late September, three live bait traps were situated at undisclosed locations north of Havasu but within a few miles of State Route milepost 192. The section of roadway had proven hazardous after a string of vehicle collisions that killed a handful of wild burros.
According to earlier reports, six donkeys were killed in five separate vehicle wrecks between Aug. 16 and Sept. 26. All but one was in the area of SR95 milepost 192. The remaining one occurred on a Crystal Beach roadway.
As of mid-September, Arizona Department of Transportation placed large flashing road signs warning motorists of the animals. The signs are southbound SR95 near Interstate 40/SR95 interchange and northbound near Havasu city limits.
BLM officials are set to coordinate with ADOT to determine how much longer the signs will remain, Benson said.
The captured burros will be put up for adoption through BLM.
“There is always an interest in burros,” Benson said. “They will be heading to Ridgecrest, Calif., to be freeze branded and prepped for adoption.”
Preparation includes receiving immunizations, being wormed and held for 20 or 30 days to receive immunization boosters.
The burros are branded for identification purposes used during adoption follow-up procedures.
“After (burros) are adopted, they belong to the United State’s government for one year,” Benson said. “It is so you show you can take care of it and follow all guidelines.”
Guidelines include the general health of the animal including making sure their hooves are trimmed. After successfully passing adoption inspection, the burro is titled and officially becomes personal property.
The BLM wild burro adoption effort is nationwide.
“(The captured burros) very well could’ve left Arizona forever,” Benson said. “But some may come back if there is an adoption over here.”
Comments, statistics and opinions expressed in the above article do not necessarily represent those affiliated with SFTHH
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
So the Burros only come out when there are cars?
They’re just not coming out to find the bait traps near the highway,” he said. “We are done in that area for now. If we have more problems then we’ll go back in and assess the situation. But for now, we’ve taken as many as we can.”
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Problems? What problems do burros cause if they’re left the h*$^ alone! At least they put up signs for motorists….the least they can do.
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Another article begging comments:
http://theweek.com/article/index/220422/americas-wild-horse-conundrum-by-the-numbers
America’s wild horse conundrum: By the numbers
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Was a snippet in the Dallas Morning News several weeks ago, stating this very thing, BLM had snared 29 that day. Had wondered where they will be now. Thanks, R.T. for all your work & dedication.
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I just want everyone to know this thing about burros all getting adopter is Hooey! There are hundres of burros at the Ridgecrest facility in California.
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Burro watcher/advocates may want to monitor these burros and keep close watch on them. And you might want to help get them adopted. Remember they are great watch animals and if you live where there are predators they help warn you of trouble. Give a burro a home.
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It makes no sense that they are taking them to Ridgecrest when the Kingman holding facility is only 60 miles north. I live in Havasu and this only happens occasionally seasonally. The last time burros came out of the wild life refuge to cross the highway was the summer of 2000, between 12 and 15 were killed by vehicles. When Fall sets in they go back into the refuge and don’t come out. Fencing the west side of the highway in the area they cross would stop them from being killed. North near Lake Mead Arizona Game & Fish put in three large overpasses – wide covered with dirt – with funnel fencing for bighorn sheep to safely get across the highway. One underpass and a short amount of funnel fencing would do the job here in Havasu. But burros aren’t treated as wildlife and the preferred method of course is removal.
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I’ve got a couple of questions. How many single or multiple vehicle accidents have happened in that general area WITHOUT hitting burros or other wildlife?
Anyone else got a problem with the population v. removed count?
I’m still trying to figure out why and how the Big Bend burros aren’t in an HMA…they’ve been there for centuries!
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Denise, you are right. My husband grew up in Big Bend, and said the Burros would come down to the trailer park they lived in quite often. Sadly, I don’t think their numbers are what they were in the 80s. We were fortunate enough to see a small family of Burros a few years back when we were showing my son where my husband lived growing up. They watched us for several minutes, then disappeared into the mountains above. They are such beautiful creatures!!
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There are not that many accidents on this highway. The problem is the speed limit is 65 mph and the burros are crossing between dusk and dawn, they’re coloring makes them impossible to see until it’s too late. Putting up signs doesn’t help unless people drive slow and are looking for them, and no one does, they just go 65 mph. Burros also do not hurry across a road even when headlights are coming at them, they walk unconcerned and will even stop and stand in the middle of a road.
see this video I took down river from us on the California side –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcKvHv0Ly2I – the last half of the video shows how they cross a road, acclimated to people or not, they don’t expect cars to hit them. I rarely see burros during the day so it was a real treat to see these guys, but very stressful to watch when they were crossing the road to head back into the desert. Imagine if it were dark.
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Wonderful video Terry!! My husband worked at river lodge 2 or 3 summers in the early 80s. He said the burros always came down for water when he was there. The time we saw them as a family was a little farther down river, about where Emerald Cove is. We saw them across from the resort, the area they used to call Burro Flats. When I told him about the BLM’s complaint about the accidents, he just laughed. In his opinion, there aren’t any more accidents with the burros than there is with the deer or other animals in the area. We’ve come close to hitting a steer going down Poston road from Parker to Blythe. Sounds like they are just making excuses.The group we saw weren’t that friendly. I just recently found out that there is an HMA south of us here in Blythe, in Cibola. Looking at a friend’s photos, the ones down here are much bigger than the Parker ones. Sadly, the ones down here are due for roundup as well. I’ll have to go out before they are gone. Sadly, they plan on removing 350 of the supposed 400 burros that live on the nearly 1million acres. FIFTY!! On a MILLION acres!! Sheer idiocy, if you ask me.
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Gotta round up those dangerous wild burros. Goodness. So fast and a public nuisance. Wow, there must be 50 or more in there! Holy cow! Someone call Batman! Humans are in danger! The 7 billion humans on the planet are in danger.
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ACTION ALERT:
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6931/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8372
Oppose Roundup/Removal of Wild Horses & Burros From Nevada’s Garfield Flat HMA & Marietta Wild Burro Range
Action Will Leave Behind Just 83 Mustangs and 73 Burros on More Than 300 Square Miles of Land
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These idiots are just rounding up everything. I love the idea of the special lights, but now they want to remove them. When I worked with the hooved humane society in Illinois a while back, we had an adoption of Wild Horses and Burros. This was before I truly realized what was going on. I loved the burros and definitely would have a couple if I didn’t have to board them. So let me see,
lets bait them by the highway so that the cars can pick them off. I guess that means less to capture. Now they want to brand them, isn’t that method of identification out dated? And now who is keeping their numbers because I surely know its not the BLM. Everyone living out there must be going balistic..
I guess more calls and emails are in order here. They can surely develop a route to keep the sheep safe, but when it comes to the horses and burros, they
won’t spend a penny. The sad thing is it is OUR money that they are determining where and when it will be spent. Macho, Macho guys picking off
the little burros..They all must have the Neopolean complex.
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There is a theory from some wild equine advocates that the DOI/USDA are NOT freeze branding ALL the wild equines they remove and a freeze brand does have a relatively easy vision identification (although I can’t read the da*m thing) I know it frequently means wild equine.
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BLM needs to be absorbed into Border Patrol and out of the Wild Horse and Burro business. People living in the border states are frightened and help is needed there. Put this agency where it can earn its keep.
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Yes !!!! Louie thats what they need , to earn there keep, they certainly are not doing anything right with the horses……………………
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Arlene, we’re not the only ones who think it’s a good idea. It just makes sense. They have all of the tools….the armed guards, the Kamikazi helicopter pilots AND $74 million of the taxpayers dollars.
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I love it, the Kamikazi helicopter pilots. The only thing about putting these guys on the border is that they might actually have to pull their guns out and use them, but then maybe their cowboy friends would come out behind the cacti and protect them.
No joke, though, I think I’d be pretty vigilant if I lived down there. I would want a whole herd of donkeys. I’d love to have one, but I am already board my 2 rescues. Still, it would be nice to have one. Maybe someday.
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Denise, I think that theory about not branding all the donkeys and wild horses has a very good chance of being the real reason advocates can’t see the horses.
When you are doing the right thing, you don’t have to hide what you do. If you are proud of what you do, you want to show it to others. These people are full of shame.
We need to get some of these occupy people to guard the areas around the holding facilities where the horses are, and let us know how many trucks full of horses leave in the middle of the night.
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That’s it. Maybe Occupy Phoenix could camp outside the holding facility. They might as well be doing something constructive.
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Chad Benson sounds like a real sharp feller. Not.
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In all seriousness…there is every reason to move this agency to the border states. The BLM has proven its ability to keep the Public off of Public lands. They can match wits and weapons with the invading drug cartels and help keep Americans safe. The Border guards can use the help.
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