Feds planning to remove 14,000 wild horses from the West in controversial helicopter round-ups due to drought and wildfire concerns | The planned removal has angered animal rights advocates who are urging the Bureau of Land Management to come up with a more humane solution

>More than 14,000 wild horses are to be removed throughout the West this summer by federal agents using controversial helicopter round-ups.

>The planned removal, by the Bureau of Land Management, is due to increasing threats of drought and wildfire in western states, leaving little food and water for the wild animals. The agency plans to use helicopters to drive mustangs from above and push wild horses into corrals.

>Wild horses will be removed from several Western states, including Colorado, Nevada, California, Arizona and Oregon, according to the BLM’s public schedule.

>The plan, set to take place this summer and fall, has angered animal rights advocates who are urging BLM to come up with more humane solutions to control the booming population of wild horses. Helicopter roundups can cause injuries or fatalities to wild horses as the animals flee for miles across rough lands.

>Advocates in Las Vegas gathered outside a Bureau of Land Management office on Monday, chanting, “Keep our horses wild and free,” according to Fox 5 Vegas.