MT. CHARLESTON (KTNV) — Seven wild horses from the Kyle Canyon area may soon be relocated and adopted by a local rescue.
At a public meeting held at the U.S. Forest Service office near Torrey Pines and Rancho Drive, officials announced they’re now accepting applications from interested organizations.
Jhovani Carrillo was at that meeting and spoke to locals to hear their concerns.
Officials confirmed they've received an application from the nonprofit Wildfire's Wild and Free Mustangs in Boulder City.
"Right now, there hasn't been an official form authorized," said the U.S. Forest Service representative. "We are looking for a long-term, sustainable operation in that application."
Officials say the effort to relocate the wild horses comes after a series of safety concerns involving both people and animals.
They told Mount Charleston residents they've logged nearly 130 incidents—including horses running into traffic, people feeding or petting them, and even a few injuries caused by close encounters.
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They said relocating the animals to a different canyon was not in the "best interest" of the horses, which is why they're seeking to move them to a rescue.
They said they will try to capture the animal with a bait trap approach and be as calm as possible.
"The horses have gotten so used to people. Now they go up to their picnic table and they snatch the food and chase the people off; it becomes very dangerous," said Chris Giunchigliani, who attended the meeting.
She would like to see the horses moved to the rescue.
"They are not indigenous to here, this is not their habitat," Giunchigliani said. "It's for their safety in the long run."
"If forestry had done their job and enforced the protection of these animals, we wouldn't be here," said Tracey Tan, who attended the meeting.
She tells Channel 13 she doesn't agree with the relocation of the animals and would like to see them stay.
"We would love to keep them on the mountain, where they belong. They were born there," Tan said. "These are technically wild animals; you are not in a petting zoo. The behavior they've learned is due to lack of enforcement."
A resident in Mt. Charleston created a petition to try and keep the animals in the mountain after learning they could be relocated. So far, the petition has garnered more than 25,000 signatures.
During the meeting, officials did not clarify how many applications they've received, how much it could cost to move the animals, whether the seven horses would be relocated together, or when a decision might be made.
Channel 13 took those questions to officials at the meeting, we were told to reach out to the public information officer.
We will update this story as soon as we learn more.
