Wyoming plans to muster nearly 1000 horses

The plan is to remove 948 horses from the Green Mountain, Antelope Hills, Crooks Mountain, Stewart Creek and Lost Creek herd management areas - collectively known as the Red Desert complex.

The department has released what is known as a scoping notice for the work and comments on the proposal can be made before July 10.

The planned muster is scheduled to begin on October 1 - ironically, less than a week after the first planned National Wild Horse Adoption Day, set for September 26, which has the goal of achieving 1000 adoptions in a day.

The bureau currently holds about 30,000 horses in captivity - roughly the same number that still wander the western rangelands.

The bureau is considering its options over the ongoing cost of keeping the horses, which it says is putting pressure on its budget.

The bureau has faced criticism over proposals to euthanize horses or offer some "without limitation", a move horse welfare advocates argue would result in many going direct to slaughter.

The Wyoming muster plan aims to target about 185 horses in Stewart Creek, 235 in Lost Creek, 125 in the Antelope Hills, 316 in the Green Mountain area, and 87 in the Crooks Mountain area.

The greatest concentration of wild horses in the 10 states covering the western rangelands is Nevada.

Wyoming has about 4500 wild horses across its 16 herd management areas.