Who Is Killing Arizona’s Wild Horses?

Thirteen more wild horses shot dead since January after a 2022 massacre.

Wild horse advocate Dyan Albers Lowey walks away from a mass grave on Oct. 17, 2022. At least four Alpine wild horses are buried in the grave following the mass shooting of wild horses. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

The U.S. Forest Service is investigating the shooting deaths of 13 wild horses in Arizona’s Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.

The Forest Service told The Epoch Times by email that four horses were recently killed in the Black Mesa Ranger District. This comes after nine horses were found shot to death there in late January.

The horses had bullet wounds, showing they were shot. The Forest Service said necropsies were completed and all 13 were buried.

The incidents are still under investigation.The Black Mesa Ranger District is part of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in Arizona, which covers 2 million acres and includes much of the Mogollon Rim and Heber Wild Horse Territory. The district spans roughly 20,000 acres.

The horses in the Heber Wild Horse Territory are not classified as feral or unauthorized livestock. Estimates suggest there are 200 to 300 horses, possibly more.

The Forest Service plans to reduce the Heber herd to a sustainable range of 50 to 104 horses.

The agency also manages horses in areas of the forests that lack official designation.

These horses, however, are not protected by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, which prohibits harassment and slaughter.

In 2016, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed the Salt River Wild Horse Protection Act to keep the herd in the Tonto National Forest safe from harm or unauthorized removal.

Simone Netherlands, founder and president of Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, a nonprofit, thinks that “deep hatred” for wild horses is the reason behind the recent killings in the Black Mesa Ranger District.

Netherlands says volunteers counted 43 wild horses shot and killed in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests near Alpine, in east-central Arizona, between 2022 and 2023.

The cases have not been solved.

Now, fewer than 400 wild horses from the Alpine herd remain in the area after the Forest Service began removing them in 2022 as feral or unauthorized livestock and selling them at auction.

The Forest Service believes unauthorized horses pose serious problems for native plants and animals by competing for resources. They also harm watersheds and ecosystems and put several federally listed and threatened species at risk, according to the agency.

Netherlands said of the wild horse killings: “It’s really just disgusting and sad. And you know what’s even sadder? This is probably only the tip of the iceberg.”

Netherlands pointed out that when horses are shot, they often suffer for a long time before dying, which shows how cruel this act is.“Somebody is literally murdering all those horses. And it’s because of this deep hatred for wild horses that’s perpetuated.”

Netherlands said the volunteer group offered a $35,000 reward to solve the killings, but it did not work.

The Forest Service asks anyone who has information to call the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 928-524-9908.

A $5,000 reward is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the recent horse shootings