Nevada

Wild horses and burros still the subject of awe, inhumane treatment

Published

1 year ago

December 20, 2024

Wild horses and burros still the subject of awe, inhumane treatment

Driving over the cattle guards that mark the boundaries of the Las Vegas Valley, Southern Nevadans are likely to come across an equine friend or two. Or a herd of them.

Wild horses and burros, considered to be an emblem of the unconquerable American West, have been a permanent fixture of the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert for centuries. They roam Nevada’s sprawling public, federally owned lands, of which the state has the highest percentage in the nation.

Another superlative that belongs to the Silver State is the highest number of wild horses and burros. It’s home to about half of them, with more than 40,000 on federally managed land, according to the most recent estimates from both the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

Largely thought to be descended from horses that Europeans brought to the West in the 16th century, Nevada’s wild horses are the subject of dual fascination and concern. That’s mostly due to how federal agencies round them up with helicopters and the environmental damage such large numbers of them could cause if populations were left untouched.

Nevada’s ‘Wild Horse Annie’ spoke for the mustangs

As mandated by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, both federal land management agencies are required by law to protect and defend these animals.

The law was brought to Congress all because of one Nevada woman: “Wild Horse Annie,” also known as Velma Johnston.

Wild horses were once the subject of abuse by so-called mustangers, who would sell off their meat commercially. After an encounter where she saw a trailer full of bleeding horses on their way to a slaughter plant in the 1950s, Johnston riled up sentiment across the West to do something about it.

Johnston expressed her dissatisfaction with the 1959 Wild Horse Annie Act, a preliminary law that outlawed the poisoning of water holes and hunting wild horses from planes. She said it lacked any real enforcement mechanism.

In response to requirements from federal law, the BLM and Forest Service created their respective wild horse and burro programs to control the number of horses and burros out in the wild in a way that was deemed more humane.

Modern roundups marred by controversy

Because of the roundup and sale of wild horses in Western states, animals sold in federal auctions can be found as far east as Florida.

The BLM divided its land into 83 herd management areas, across which the agency says there should only be 12,811 wild horses and burros. The agency estimated this year that 38,023 of them roam its land. The Forest Service’s program is smaller, with 17 so-called territories, mostly in central Nevada, where only about 2,500 wild horses and burros currently reside, according to the agency’s counts.

Without proper population control, many say these non-native animals disrupt fragile desert ecosystems and food chains.

That leads the BLM to round up mustangs, place them in holding facilities and sell them for $125 each. About 290,000 wild horses and burros have been placed into private care since 1971, the BLM estimates. Over the years, newspaper investigations and watchdog groups have found that at least some horses are sent to slaughterhouses because of the agency’s limited oversight past the adoption period.

Though some have criticized the conditions of holding pens, the agency maintains that they “provide ample space to horses, along with clean feed and water.”

It uses helicopters to circle and capture the horses — a method some advocacy groups have called inhumane. The BLM maintains that its technique leads to the least amount of injury and deaths possible.

Other groups, such as American Wild Horse Conservation, call for the use of porcine zona pellucida, or PZP vaccines, which are administered through darts and make female horses infertile. It piloted such a method within the Virginia Range near Reno in partnership with the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X and @alanhalaly.bsky.social on Bluesky.

Source link

Nevada

Vegas casino pulls plug on prediction market conference amid Nevada crackdown

Published

4 hours ago

May 15, 2026

Press Room

Vegas casino pulls plug on prediction market conference amid Nevada crackdown

A Las Vegas casino abruptly pulled the plug on a prediction market conference over fears the event could draw scrutiny from Nevada gambling regulators, according to a report.

Predict 2026 had been slated for the Aria on the Strip before the MGM-operated resort canceled the booking just days after signing the agreement.

‘The [Aria] is issuing this notice in light of Nevada’s current regulatory and enforcement position regarding prediction markets,’ a lawyer for the resort wrote in a termination letter cited by Barron’s.

The dispute highlights escalating tensions between state gambling regulators and prediction market firms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which let people bet on the outcomes of all kinds of events.

Nevada regulators have taken an especially aggressive stance toward the fast-growing sector, arguing that some sports-event contracts resemble unlicensed wagering that bypasses state gaming rules and taxes.

Last October, the Nevada Gaming Control Board warned casino license holders that maintaining ties to prediction market operators could factor into whether they remain eligible for gaming licenses.

“If a Nevada licensee chooses to offer Sports and Other Event Contracts in Nevada or decides to partner with other entities offering Sports and Other Event Contracts in the state, the Board will consider these developments as it evaluates the suitability of the entity to maintain a Nevada gaming license,” regulators said in the guidance cited by Barron’s.

While Predict 2026 was not sponsored by any prediction market company, Aria’s legal notice indicated that regulators had become increasingly sensitive even to indirect promotion of the industry.

The Aria, which opened in 2009 and is operated by MGM Resorts after being sold to Blackstone in 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The showdown highlights the widening divide between traditional casino operators and the new entrants into the prediction market space.

Legacy gaming giants such as MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment have largely stayed away from prediction markets even as companies including DraftKings have launched competing platforms to challenge businesses like Kalshi.

Prediction market operators insist that their event contracts are federally regulated financial instruments overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, allowing them to operate nationwide for users over 18.

Some state gaming regulators, however, have argued that sports-related contracts closely resemble sports betting and should fall under state gambling laws.

Nevada officials have already taken direct legal action against Kalshi.

The Nevada Gaming Commission sued the company over its sports event contracts, and the platform was briefly barred from operating in the state earlier this year, according to Barron’s.

The Post has sought comment from Polymarket, Aria and the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Source link

Nevada

Best Nevada high schools for athletes? One study has revealed a top 25

Published

16 hours ago

May 15, 2026

Press Room

Best Nevada high schools for athletes? One study has revealed a top 25

Nevada has a rich history of producing athletic legends.

Total number of sports: 24

1. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)

Total number of sports: 14

Source link

Nevada

Nevada designates more than 119,000 voters inactive

Published

1 day ago

May 14, 2026

Press Room

Nevada designates more than 119,000 voters inactive

CARSON CITY, Nev. (KOLO) – The State of Nevada says it has designated more than 119,000 voters as inactive ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar says that in the spring of this year, counties updated 14,164 voter records, designated 119,533 voters as inactive and canceled the voter registrations of 7,583 people.

This is in addition to 2025 voter roll maintenance efforts that registered more than 138,000 voters inactive and canceled nearly 177,000 voter registrations.

“State and local election officials are working hard to prepare voters for the upcoming June Primary, and keeping Nevada’s voter rolls up to date is a critical part of that process. County election officials have dedicated significant resources to make sure Nevada’s voter registration records are accurate, so that all eligible Nevadans – and only eligible Nevadans – can cast a ballot,” said Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar. “Mail ballots are being sent to active, registered voters across the state now. Voters can support their local officials’ work by checking and updating their registration information on VOTE.NV.gov.”

Source link