KBR Wild Horse and Burro News
  NEVADA WILD HORSES SHOT!
(Details Below)

Story date: December, 1998

Story Updates:

Sheriff Kirkland
Announces Arrests!

Attorney General
Explains Prosecution

Most Charges Dropped!



  BACKGROUND STORIES

We have received the following AP bulletins:

December 29, 1998

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Authorities are investigating the shooting deaths of 
25 wild horses, the worst slaughter of free-roaming horses in the state 
in a decade. 

"All of the horses appear to have been shot at close range with a 
high-powered rifle," Paul Iverson, administrator of the Nevada Division 
of Agriculture, said today. 

"I think it's absolutely tragic. ... They weren't hurting anybody."

Several young colts and pregnant mares were among the dead horses 
discovered on Sunday and Monday in an area in northern Nevada known as 
"Devil's Flat," about 5 miles east of Sparks. 

Investigators do not believe the killings are related in any way to 
ongoing disagreements between ranchers and government managers of wild 
horses, said John Tyson, a Storey County range management officer. 

"It appears to be a killing of targets of opportunity," he told the 
Reno Gazette-Journal. 

State Veterinarian David Thain said he would remove bullets from the 
carcasses to help find the killers. 

"There are no words to describe how appalling it is," Thain said. 

The horses are not technically considered wild horses as defined by the 
federal Wild Horse and Burro Act because they did not descend from 
horses living on public land at the time the act was passed in 1969, 
authorities said. 

Rather, they are believed to have descended from privately owned horses 
and were allowed to roam free. 

"It's unusual when more than one or two are shot," said Bob Stewart, a 
spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management in Reno. 

Numerous horses were shot on public land in central Nevada during the 
mid-1980s, he said. Some believed those shootings to be linked to 
friction with ranchers, but no one ever was prosecuted. 

"It was all over central Nevada. We just never were able to get enough 
evidence to go to court with anybody," Stewart said. 

The BLM manages more than 20,000 wild horses and burros on federal land 
in Nevada but has nothing to do so far with the dead horses discovered 
this week, Stewart said. The BLM might get involved if any of the dead 
horses turn out to have been on federal land.
---

  INVESTIGATIVE FOLLOW-UP

One horse was apparently tortured according to authorities who found evidence that the killers attempted to asphyxiate a wounded horse by shooting off a fire extinguisher in its nose. Authorities have found empty beer cans in the proximity of the killings and they extracted as many slugs as possible from the horses. They hope to match any potential suspects to fingerprints on the beer cans and locate the weapon which fired the rounds into the horses.

They have also unfortunately discovered additional dead horses after performing a helicopter search. The reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of the perpetrators is now up to $35,000.00.

  MORE REPORTS

December 30, 1998

Wild Horses Shot To Death in Nevada

 By SCOTT SONNER

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Twenty-five wild horses were shot to death at close
range with a rifle in the worst slaughter of free-roaming horses in Nevada
in a decade, investigators said Tuesday.

"This kind of stuff is just sick and absolutely senseless," said Paul
Iverson, administrator of the Nevada Division of Agriculture. "Some of
them were shot and left to suffer for a long period of time."

All of the horses appeared to have been shot on Sunday about five miles
east of the Reno-Sparks area. The carcasses were found in a valley known
as Devil's Flat.

The horses included several young colts and pregnant mares. Some were
maimed and at least one was tortured with sprays to the head from a fire
extinguisher after being shot, sheriff's Sgt. Bob Towery said.

"I have no reason why. There's no rationale for it," Towery said.

One young horse was still alive when leaders of a local animal rescue group
were called to the scene Sunday afternoon, but it had to be destroyed.

"We only saw two (dead) horses at first. Then, oh my God, we saw another
one. And then a fourth and a fifth. It was horrible," said Bobbi Royle of
Wild Horse Spirit based in the nearby Washoe Valley.

"There was one little filly still alive, probably just eight or nine
months old. She was shot in the back and paralyzed,'' she said Tuesday.
"She had to be put down."

State officials were using a metal detector to locate and remove bullets
from the carcasses to be sent to a forensics lab. A reward totaling more 
than $20,000 was posted for the arrest of the killers.

"There's just total outrage. People are so upset," said Lydia Hammack,
president of Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association in Virginia
City.  "These animals are magnificent animals and I really can't 
understand how somebody can do this. It's a real sicko out there."

Investigators do not believe the killings are related to the longstanding
tensions between ranchers and government managers of wild horses, said John
Tyson, a Storey County range management officer. For decades, ranchers have
complained that wild horses compete with their livestock for limited food
in the high desert.

The slaughter is believed to be the biggest single shooting of wild horses
in Nevada since as many as 600 were killed during a two-year period in the
mid-1980s.

Those shootings were linked to friction with ranchers, but "we just never
were able to get enough evidence to go to court with anybody," said Bob
Stewart, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Land Management.
December 30, 1998

Psychologist Ponders Horse Killer

 By SCOTT SONNER

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Investigators completed the last field autopsies on 34
wild horses slaughtered in northern Nevada today and began trying to figure
out what kind of person would shoot dozens of mustangs, leaving them for
dead.

"It's hard to guess who would do something like this," Washoe County
Sheriff's Lt. Janice Lee said today.

"You don't get a good feel for it until you get up in a helicopter and see
they are just randomly littered along the mountains."

Law officers found the 34th victim late Wednesday when they widened their
helicopter search because dead horses were turning up miles from the
original shooting scene, apparently limping away wounded before they died.

"I believe we will probably find a few more," said Paul Iverson,
administrator of the Nevada Division of Agriculture.

Leaders of the investigation in the hills five miles east of the
Reno-Sparks area were expressing growing confidence they would capture the
horse killers as total rewards for a conviction grew to more than $35,000.

"We have some very good physical evidence," said John Tyson, a Storey
County range management officer and deputy state brand inspector.

"I have enough good leads to fill up a folder. There's no question in my
mind we're going to catch this guy or persons," Tyson said.

Iverson, Tyson and other investigators have dismissed the possibility that
the shootings stem from a dispute between ranchers and the government over
wild horses competing for feed for livestock.

"I think this is just an act of wanting to kill something," Iverson said
today. "It has nothing to do, I don't think, with the ranching
community."

A leading psychologist in the area suggested a sadistic personality was at
play. "This is someone who takes pleasure in the pain of other
creatures," said Ole Theinhaus, chairman of the Psychology Department at the
University of Nevada-Reno, told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

All of the horses appeared to have been shot multiple times.

Investigators started discovering the horse carcasses on Sunday about five
miles east of Sparks. Several young colts and pregnant mares were among the
victims, including one filly that was clinging to life but had to be
destroyed.
---

I received the following correspondence from Washoe County Sherrif Richard Kirkland:

My agency is strongly committed to bringing to justice those involved in the outrageous acts of shooting these horses. However, for clarity purposes the shooting of the horses actually occured in Storey County which is an adjacent county. Storey county is a very small population county and they do not have the resources to handle an event of this magnitude. Therefore I have provided the resources of my agency to work in concert with the Storey County Sheriffs office. Washoe County has 700 employees while Storey County has about 25. We are also working together with two State Agencies, which, although very small, are doing their best in providing excellent expertise as we all strive to solve this crime.

I feel very confident that with all the resources, including my lab which is a nationally recognized lab which provides service to every county (except las vegas) in Nevada and several other states, we will be able to solve this crime. The outside assistance from agencies and organizations such as yours and the general public will play heavily in the solving of this crime. Those involved will most certainly ultimately talk about it to someone...and then the house of cards will come down. The reward is very important...and again..public participation is essential. Once we catch those involved our forensic sciences will then convict. We also have an excellent prosecutor's office so we are confident. All it will take is time and the public's help...thank you again

Dick Kirkland

---

December 31, 1998

Reward Fund Grows for Dead Horses

 By SCOTT SONNER

LOCKWOOD, Nev. (AP) -- Horses don't talk. But money does.

Townspeople are counting on a reward of $35,000-plus to help catch the
killers of 34 horses that used to roam the canyons and hillsides just east
of Reno. The wild horses were shot to death at close range with a rifle.

"If there's enough money put up, then somebody will say something about it
to somebody," said Lydia Hammack, president of the Virginia Range Wildlife
Protection Association in Nevada. "Somebody will be overheard yucking it
up in a bar or bragging to their friends."

The slaughter of the wild horses Sunday was the worst in Nevada since
several hundred were shot over a two-year period during the mid-1980s.

It has shaken a region that considers wild horses an emblem of its heritage,
attracted the attention of foreigners fascinated by the Wild West and drawn
reward donations from across the country.

We're handling it just as we would a murder," Storey County Sheriff's
Sgt. Bill Petty said.

Prosecutors said they will seek charges that could bring two to five years
in prison for each horse killed.

Investigators have dismissed the possibility that the shootings stem from a
longrunning dispute between the government and ranchers who complain the
wild horses compete with their livestock for food.

Several young colts and pregnant mares were among those killed. Some were
maimed and at least one was blasted with a fire extinguisher.

Many of the wounded suffered for days. Some limped for miles when
authorities discovered them and put them to death.

"These bullets have chipped the hearts of everybody around here," said
John Tyson, a range management officer. "It offends normal people everywhere,
but even more so people in the West who consider these horses part of our
heritage."

Like the frontier sheriffs who used to post rewards for the capture of the
bad guys, animal protection organizations nationwide are lining up to
contribute. The Humane Society of the United States has given $10,000.

"While I was typing the latest press release, three more people called and
made donations," Sgt. Bob Towery said. "It is coming in that fast."

Reward Donations are Being Collected by:

Dawn Lappin
Wild Horse Organized Assistance
P.O. Box 555
Reno, NV 89504
(775) 851-4817
(Be sure to print "Reward Fund" clearly on your check.)

Email Links to Washoe County Officials:


  • Washoe County Sheriff's Office
    Richard Kirkland, Sheriff


  • Washoe County Commissioners
    Joann Bond, Chairman

  • Continue to
    Three Suspects Arrested!


    Important Notice:

    All reproductions of AP news service stories are copyrighted and property of the Associated Press. Reproduction and retransmission of portions or all of this material, without the express written consent of the Associated Press is prohibited.


    This is not a BLM operated or BLM sponsored site. It is run by private wild horse and burro enthusiasts.

    Return to KBR Wild Horse and Burro News

    Return to KBR World of Wild Horses & Burros

    Go to other Wild Horse Links

    Go To KBR Horse Net