Nearly 600 horses caught so far in federal roundup

Federal officials said Wednesday that they had collected nearly 600 wild horses from the range near Susanville, about a third of the number they hope to round up by September. The Bureau of Land Management said it had gathered 592 wild horses since the roundup began Aug. 11 with a helicopter herding them into trap sites. An aerial survey of the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area that was taken before the roundup detected about 2,000 wild horses and more than 200 burros. Officials say they intend to leave 450 wild horses and 72 burros in the 800,000- acre range when they finish, probably sometime in September. Officials released 27 stallions and six mules back into the wild Wednesday, with 14 mares set to be released today after they are treated with a temporary fertility control vaccine. BLM officials say no serious injuries to horses have been recorded since the gather began...more