KINGMAN, AZ — The Bureau of Land Management in Arizona plans to remove up to 1,000 wild burros from the Black Mountain Herd Management Area west of Kingman starting Jan. 8.
The agency says the Black Mountain herd’s population of approximately 1,925 is greater than three times larger than appropriate for the area. The gathering is expected to last eight weeks.
BLM lists herd health, habitat conditions and roadway safety as key concerns with the large population.
“Wild burros essentially have no natural predators, resulting in a rapid increase in population,” Amanda Dodson, Kingman field manager, said in a press release. “If not appropriately managed, herds can double in size every five years. The gather is being conducted to address herd health and overpopulation concerns with a future goal of maintaining a thriving, natural ecological balance on public lands in the Black Mountain Herd Management Area.”
Captured animals will be sent to wild horse and burro facilities in Florence or Ridgecrest, Calif., where many will be available for adoption or sale via the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Private Placement and Care Program.
However, females involved in a fertility control project by the The Humane Society of the United States will be treated and released.
