Feds thinning burro herd in Red Rock Canyon area near Vegas

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Federal officials have begun an effort to corral about 40 wild burros living in the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park area in scenic Red Rock Canyon west of Las Vegas.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Kirsten Cannon said Monday it could take up to a month to lure the burros into pens with water and baited hay.

Cannon tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal (http://bit.ly/2aHCL9f ) that no helicopters or people on horseback will be used for the roundup.

Removing 40 animals to a federal adoption facility in Ridgecrest, California, is expected to leave 90 to 108 burros in the bureau's 250-square-mile Red Rock Herd Management Area.

Cannon says wild burros pose safety hazards on nearby roadways, and crashes usually increase during summer theater events at the state park.