Inside the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, the incident was referred to as "burro-gate." Many agency employees, and the general public, were outraged to learn that two high-ranking TPWD employees had shot and killed 71 burros at Big Bend Ranch State Park over the course of several months in 2007. The shooters, Mike Hill and Dan Sholly, had intended to handle the culling quietly, neglecting to inform even the park's superintendent beforehand. Park staffers reported that the dead or dying animals were left where they fell, and several of the burros suffered from shots that did not quickly kill them.

The shootings sparked an internal investigation of the two park officials on the grounds of animal cruelty. Their names were ultimately cleared although it was determined that they failed to follow notification protocols.

Since then, at least two rescue groups - Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue and the Wild Horse Foundation - have mounted unsuccessful efforts to capture and save the burros, which are not native to the region, though they've lived there for hundreds of years. The problem? The rescuers haven't been able to find the burros.

"We are glad to work with anyone who wants to come in and catch the burros," said Walt Dabney, State Parks Director. Rescue efforts have not been successful in large part due to the extremely rugged terrain, he said. Dabney added that capturing burros is not only expensive, but once caught they must then be quarantined and inoculated, which is also costly. "We don't have the resources," he said.

Ray Field, Executive Director of the Wild Horse Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding homes for wild horses and burros, spent four days in the park with Mike Hill looking for burros. "I saw deer, cattle, cougars, dove, and aoudads...and only one burro!"

In May 2008 testimony before the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission, Scott Boruff, Deputy Executive Director of Operations for TPWD, estimated that there were about 500 burros in the park. In a 300,000-acre park, that boils down to about one burro for every 600 acres.

How did Hill and Sholly manage to find 71 burros? They spent a lot more time in the park than the rescue groups, while working on various projects. They shot the burros as they came across them.

Boruff is the person who will ultimately decide when and if the lethal elimination of the burros will resume. He said, "They tear up the water holes, defecate in them and wade in them," and water in west Texas is scarce. "They destroy the ecosystem for all the endemic native species. Raccoons, mule deer, mountain lions, bobcats, pronghorn antelope, and bighorn sheep are all endemic to the region."

"They are very destructive to the vegetation there as well as to the limited water sources in the park," said Dabney.

Although Boruff made the call to stop lethally removing the burros, he said, "We will probably start again with lethal means of removal. We have marching orders to opportunistically and humanely remove the animals." However, he said they have no time frame for that just yet.

Boruff added that staff members involved in the culling "... always try to verify immediately that an animal is dead after it is shot." But wounded burros sometimes flee the immediate area and die elsewhere, so verification is not always possible.

Mark Meyers, Executive Director of California-based Peaceful Valley Donkey rescue, has logged thousands of miles over the past two years, personally transporting dozens of burros to adoption facilities in Texas, California, and elsewhere. He launched his efforts in Texas after hearing about the Big Bend Ranch incident. While the burros in the park have proven elusive, they've rescued hundreds more from private ranches all over the state.

Meyers said, "During the summer we put BBR on the back burner. We have rescued 127 donkeys in Texas so far this year alone. We are putting together a team to go into the park in the next few weeks. I had not heard that they are considering resuming the shooting."

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