Fulfilling America’s promise to our wild herds

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Fifty-two years ago, with the passage of the historic Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, Congress made a promise to the wild horses and burros who roam the West: the right to live free on the lands they call home, protected from capture, branding, harassment, and death.

Sadly, five decades later, it is abundantly clear that the federal government has failed to live up to this promise.

Right now, the federal agency tasked with managing wild horses and burros, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), spends millions of your hard-earned tax dollars to brutally round up thousands of mustangs and burros using helicopters. These roundups are inhumane and often cause injuries such as broken legs or necks, and in the worst cases, deaths. Those who survive are pushed into overburdened holding facilities where over 66,000 of these iconic animals are currently languishing in captivity.

We know it doesn’t have to be this way. That’s why American Wild Horse Conservation, the nation’s leading wild horse and burro conservation organization, exists. Our mission is to uphold the promise we made to our wild herds in 1971, and thanks to the support of a growing herd of advocates, we’ve made vital strides toward our goal.

In the field, we’re setting the standard for wild horse and burro conservation. In 2023, we acquired over 3,300 acres of prime habitat in Nevada’s beautiful Carson Valley to launch our Land Conservancy Project. This pilot program is dedicated to preserving critical habitat for mustangs and burros while advancing land conservation initiatives for wild horse areas. This year, we’ve built on these efforts by securing vital water and grazing rights, enhancing water sources, and helping to restore fire-impacted areas. 

This year also marked the five year anniversary of our historic humane fertility control program on Nevada’s Virginia Range. This scientifically proven conservation approach is key to our efforts in keeping wild horses free on the range while responsibly managing herd numbers. That’s why we were proud to see reversible fertility control programs succeeding in other herds this year, such as the locally managed Pine Nut Mountains program in Northern Nevada, as well as Utah’s Cedar Mountains where AWHC administered fertility control to wild mares in a remote population who were previously considered untreatable.

In addition to our work in the field, this year AWHC has been at the forefront of advancing legislation at the federal and state levels to reform wild horse and burro management while also pursuing litigation to enforce protection laws.

Seventy-eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 15 Senators supported our request for appropriations legislation to reform the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. As a result of this work, the House included dedicated funding for fertility control programs, and both chambers reaffirmed protections against slaughter. On the state level, we’re continuing to build coalitions in key states where wild horses and burros reside, such as in Colorado, where AWHC supported the formation of the Wild Horse Working Group, which aims to develop collaborative solutions for humane wild horse management.

In the courts, we’re continuing to stand up for our wild herds on multiple fronts. In Wyoming, after a 12-year court battle against the BLM, we filed a lawsuit to stop the agency from eliminating 2 million acres of habitat that would result in the eradication of two iconic wild horse herds in the state. We’re now continuing that court case through the appellate process. And in Arizona, we partnered with local allies to protect the horses who roam the Tonto National Forest.

Your support is making a difference for wild horses and burros. We can’t do this vital work without you. Please chip in whatever you can afford today to help us continue our mission to fulfill America’s promise to our precious wild herds.

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation