Colorado animal sanctuary to open 22,450-acre horse refuge
CRAIG, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Wild Animal Sanctuary has announced the acquisition of land in northwest Colorado.
According to our news partners in Denver, the Colorado non-profit organization has purchased 22,450 acres of land near Craig to establish the Wild Horse Refuge. The sanctuary said the refuge will span 29 square miles and will serve to rescue and protect hundreds of wild horses.
According to The Wild Animal Sanctuary, the refuge is being created in response to wild horse round-up operations conducted by the Bureau of Land Management in 2021 and 2022. In Colorado, round-ups were conducted in the Sand Wash Basin and Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Areas.
The sanctuary said the newly created refuge features rolling hills, canyons, native grasses, sagebrush, juniper trees, and water from Lay Creek. The land was formerly operated as Rio Ro Mo Ranch, a large cattle ranch and breeding operation, but will now be dedicated entirely to wild horses.
The sanctuary plans for the refuge to provide a home to as many as 500 wild horses.
The Wild Animal Sanctuary operates its main 1,214-acre facility in Keenesburg, northeast of Denver. In 2018, the sanctuary opened a 9,752-acre facility in southeast Colorado near the town of Springfield, called The Wild Animal Refuge.
