ELKO (AP) - The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the shooting of a wild horse gathered in a government roundup in northeastern Nevada.
BLM Director Bob Abbey says the agency is serious about enforcing the 1971 federal law that makes it illegal to shoot mustangs.
He says BLM rangers are working closely with authorities in White Pine and Elko counties to gather evidence, and are hopeful the reward will lead to arrests.
The mare was euthanized after it spun around and broke a front leg on Thursday morning in a corral being used for the agency's Antelope Complex gather about 60 miles south of Wells.
They say a veterinarian determined a gunshot wound in the upper leg was a major contributing factor for the break.
Wild horse advocates say the fact that the injured mare was stampeded along with healthy horses for miles to the corral underscores the indiscriminate and inhumane nature of BLM roundups.
The BLM says it plans to remove about 2,000 mustangs in the area to protect the range and horse herds.
