Feds investigating after dozens of wild burros illegally slaughtered near Las Vegas
Federal investigators say someone has illegally shot and killed at least 46 wild burros in a remote part of California near Las Vegas over the past six months.
"It's just an appalling and senseless act," said Stephanie Boyles Griffin, a wildlife protection senior scientist for the Humane Society of the United States. "It's unprecedented."
Authorities are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for killing the burros, which are part of the Clark Mountain Herd Area in California's San Bernardino County. Interstate 15 runs through the area, and authorities are asking for the public's help in finding the killer or killers.
"We're really looking for folks to come forward, help solve the case, and prevent this from happening again," said Martha Maciel, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Land Management's office in California. "We want to bring those persons who are guilty of this to justice."
The burros were part of a free-ranging and federally protected herd, and anyone convicted faces a year in prison and a $2,000 fine for each dead burro. Maciel said it appears the burros were shot with a rifle from a distance, likely as they were visiting watering holes. The carcasses have been periodically discovered by visitors to the area starting in May, she said. The most recent dead burros were discovered in August, she said.
The Bureau of Land Management is leading the investigation, assisted by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Gold miners in the 1800s brought the burros – highly intelligent small donkeys – to California and eventually turned them loose, where they proliferated in the rugged, dry terrain. They're now managed like wild horses by the Bureau of Land Management, which periodically rounds them up and permits people to adopt them.
The Humane Society of the United States is helping fund the $100,000 reward, along with several California-based animal-rights groups. The Humane Society has worked with the Bureau of Land Management to develop a birth-control program that would reduce the number of wild burros.