DUGWAY, Utah (ABC4) - The reward for information on the killing of a young palomino stallion in central Utah has soared to $30,000 as organizations band together in hopes of finding a suspect and securing a conviction.
Pyrite, a wild horse from the Onaqui Herd Management Area, was found dead outside of Dugway on Sunday, Nov. 10. The Onaqui Catalogue Foundation reported on the death Tuesday, saying the horse died by gunshot.
On Tuesday, The Wild Beauty Foundation offered a reward of $2,500 to anyone who provided information leading to a conviction. By Friday, several organizations had pledged reward money increasing the total to $30,000.
Ashley Avis, the founder of the foundation, said they learned Pyrite was “shot and left to suffer for several days after the gunshot wound.” The Bureau of Land Management confirmed this saying the horse was injured and suffered for several days, possibly a week or longer, before dying.
Avis said it is encouraging to see these groups pledge money to help find the person, or persons, responsible for the crime despite ideological differences.
“A number of different wild horse organizations, along with the BLM, have come together, and the truth is not everybody agrees eye to eye,” Avis said. “But it’s heartening that despite not always agreeing - and I think that that speaks to a larger theme of our world today - that we can see some teamwork.”
Avis said the shooting of Pyrite “is not an isolated incident.” She said last year two Onaqui stallions were found dead from gunshot wounds near Simpson Springs Mountain Road, just over 20 miles from Dugway.
“It’s disturbing to me that there can be a pattern of behavior when someone goes into one of these wild places and does a targeted attack. And that’s what I feel has happened here, having seen it unfold in Arizona, over year after year, horses being targeted and shot to death and left to die and to suffer,” she said.
Warr gave a different possibility saying the fact that the horse wasn’t killed immediately means it could have been shot by a rabbit hunter or someone “plinking at a tin can.”
“It is very unique that we’ve had three instances within, you know, a year and a half. That’s kind of disturbing. I don’t know what’s going on or what’s causing that,” Warr said.
In addition to reporting any suspicious activity, Avis said people can support the Onaqui Catalogue Foundation as they work to raise money to install trail cameras.
“If we had more cameras out on that range to protect arguably the most famous herd in the United States … people would be less apt to go out there, if they know that they’re being watched, with a gun to hunt down these horses,” she said.
She also suggested calling political representatives to ask for stronger federal protections for wild horses.
“That’s what you can do to help. One voice times a million can make a huge difference,” Avis said.
. . .
If you have information, call the BLM TIPLINE:
1-800-722-3998.
#istandwithwildhorses #wildhorseteamwork #pyrite