BLM Winnemucca Wild Horse Holding Facility. (100 Acre w/ 4,000 Horses) FOA returns to court for appeals
The Bureau of Land Management relied on state permitting requirements when it approved the construction of a 100-acre off-range corral in Winnemucca, Nevada, and found no significant impact under the National Environmental Policy Act.
On the outskirts of Paradise Valley, Nevada, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Winnemucca Off-Range Corrals stretch across 100 acres of fenced dirt and steel. Designed to hold up to 4,000 captured wild horses and burros, the facility is one of the newest pieces in the federal agency’s expanding network of off-range holding centers — and one of the most controversial.
The international animal advocacy group Friends of Animals sued the bureau of 2022, claiming that it failed to take a hard look at the impact both to the horses and the environment when it approved a contract with JS Livestock to construct what was at the time the largest off-range corral in the country, designed to hold up t0 4,000 animals. As of today, the corral holds just under 3,500, providing more than 750 square feet per animal.
The contract with JS Livestock also requires “two to four” pen cleanings per year**Department of Justice attorney Rebecca Jaffe clarified that the bureau can order the contractor to clean the pen more often if the cleanings aren’t adequate. She told the panel that conditions at the Winnemucca are no different than other corrals across the country.
To address the waste issue, the bureau required JS Livestock to obtain a Nevada concentrated animal feeding operation permit, which provides rigid guidelines for managing waste and removing animal waste, including ensuring no waste ends up in surrounding surface water and limiting the amount of waste that can seep into groundwater.
Link to the original 41 page law suite filed by FOA
As of May of 2025 there were 3,494 wild horses being held at this off range private maintenance facility.
According to a FOIA pulled by OWHO between late 2022 and 2024 there were over 65 deaths.
Reasons for deaths include:
Foaling complications, such as acute or unexpected issues during foaling.
Fractures, including leg, neck, and spinal fractures, often leading to euthanasia.
Neurologic issues, such as acute or undiagnosed neurological conditions.
Colic, including acute colic.
Old age, with chronic conditions or unexpected death due to aging.
Physical defects, such as acute photophobia.
Lameness, including chronic injuries to limbs.
Body condition, involving chronic or follow-up health issues.
Injuries, such as soft tissue damage, acute trauma, or accidents (e.g., running into objects, found hung, or running into fences).
Other causes, including animals found dead unexpectedly or unspecified reasons.
Within one 24-day span, records show 23 wild horses died or were euthanized; many causes listed as neurological/botulism
A Closed System
Despite promises of transparency, public tours of the Winnemucca has been offered one time since the facility opened and that tour was tightly controlled. Visitors are prohibited from photographing close-ups of horses or entering treatment areas.
The agency insists that the facility “meets or exceeds animal welfare standards,” yet independent veterinarians and volunteers are not allowed routine access to verify those claims.
Conclusion: What Lies Beyond the Fence
For many Nevadans, the Winnemucca corrals symbolize more than just a holding facility they represent the erasure of the wild under a management system driven by politics and contracts rather than ecology or ethics.
As federal budgets tighten and debates over wild horse policy intensify, thousands of animals continue to live and die behind locked gates, their fate determined not by the open range but by bureaucratic quotas.
“The public lands belong to all Americans,” one advocate said, “but the truth about what happens to our wild horses has become the government’s best-kept secret.”
Courts Say Winnemucca Is ‘No Different’ — And That’s the Problem
In legal filings and court rulings tied to a 2022 environmental challenge, the Ninth Circuit noted that the Winnemucca Off-Range Corrals operate under the same conditions and standards as other BLM holding facilities nationwide.
For the Bureau of Land Management, that statement was a defense; for advocates, it was an indictment.
“If Winnemucca is just like all the other facilities,” said wild horse advocate Laura Leigh of Wild Horse Education, “then the problem isn’t one corral — it’s the entire system.”
The court’s acknowledgment effectively confirmed what watchdog groups have long argued: the federal holding system’s flaws are institutional, not incidental. Across the network of more than 30 off-range corrals, similar issues recur — overcrowding, lack of shade, disease outbreaks, and limited veterinary oversight.