Saving wild horses and burros from slaughter

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

While our primary focus at the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) is ensuring the conservation and lifelong freedom of wild horses and burros, we also support direct rescue efforts through our Rescue Fund.

AWHC actively supports local rescue organizations across the West through capacity-building grants and direct rescue efforts, helping to save nearly 200 wild horses and burros who’ve been found in kill pens over the past few years. Many of these equines were in need of rescue thanks to the failure of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which has funneled hundreds, if not thousands of these innocent animals into the slaughter pipeline.

Our team is committed to combating this crisis on several fronts. We’re currently in court suing the BLM over the alleged illegal implementation of this disastrous program, and are working with our partners in Congress to pass legislation that bans both the slaughter of wild horses and burros and the foreign export of these equines for slaughter.

But those fights take time. Our Rescue Fund is often the difference between life and death for wild horses and burros. Many of the direct rescue efforts we’ve supported have saved animals who were just hours from being shipped to slaughter. 

That’s why this work is so important, and why we’ve set a major goal to recharge our Rescue Fund so we can continue these lifesaving efforts. We’re aiming to raise $25,000 by midnight on Thursday to help aid rescue efforts and to expand our support for local rescue partners across the country. Can you chip in to help us reach our goal?

In addition to direct rescue efforts, our rescue fund awards capacity-building grants to local rescue organizations. For example, we recently provided a grant to our Colorado partner, For the Love of Aria, enabling them to purchase a squeeze chute – an indispensable tool for the care of wild horses and burros. This equipment proved essential during a critical surgery for a rescued mustang last month, leading to a successful outcome and a testament to how such grants make a tangible difference in the lives of these animals.

These capacity-building grants do not merely save lives; they ensure that our partners can provide the necessary care to rehabilitate and nurture rescued wild horses and burros back to health. Your support for the AWHC Rescue Fund makes this possible. It enables us to intervene before it’s too late, to build the capabilities of rescue partners, and to ensure that every wild horse and burro we save receives the care they desperately need.

So, will you make a contribution to support our Rescue Fund and help us reach our goal? Every contribution, no matter the size, has the power to save the life of a wild horse and burro forever.

Thank you,

Team AWHC