BLM will use bait to trap wild horses

RENO, Nev. — Federal land managers are stepping up their use of an alternative method to remove “excess” wild horses from the range in Nevada and other western states.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management for the first time will resort to the widespread use of “bait trapping,” which involves setting up panels and using food, water and salt to lure mustangs to traps.

The move comes after animal rights advocates’ growing criticism of the traditional use of helicopters to drive the animals to corrals.

Activists call the practice inhumane because some horses are traumatized, injured or killed as they are driven for miles across rough terrain to corrals.

BLM officials say bait trapping will allow them to gather horses more effectively in certain areas, while minimizing the impact to the animals.