Standing up for our wild herds in the courtroom

Here at the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC), we’re fighting to keep wild horses and burros wild through every avenue possible — including in federal court.

Today, I wanted to take a moment to tell you a little about the legal work our team is doing to protect our precious wild herds. Unfortunately, wild horses and burros cannot defend themselves in our legal system. That’s why we are dedicated to being their voice in the courts of law.

Right now, we’re battling the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in court over its plan to remove every single horse from two Herd management areas (HMAs) in the Wyoming Checkerboard. In total, 43% of habitat for wild horses in Wyoming will be eliminated if this plan goes through. Our lawsuit is the culmination of a more than decade-long legal battle between AWHC and powerful ranching interests that seek to clear the public lands of wild horses to maximize commercial livestock grazing.

If this plan moves forward, it will set a dangerous precedent for the future of wild horses and burros by allowing private landowners to dictate whether or not these cherished animals get to live on the public lands. That’s why we can’t afford to lose, and why the work of our legal team is so important. 

Another critical way we leverage our legal power is through our investigations program, which uses the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to request government records.

FOIA is a federal law that empowers private citizens and groups to request access to public information that government offices may not publicly disclose on their own. This powerful tool has helped AWHC expose abuse, fraud, and waste within federal programs affecting wild horses and burros and is a vital piece of our work to promote accountability, humane treatment, and conservation of these animals.

But the federal government does not always willingly provide records in response to our requests. That’s when we turn to the courts to force the release of critical information. Currently, AWHC has 19 open FOIA lawsuits to compel both the BLM and the United States Forest Service to turn over records that could help uncover the mismanagement and mistreatment of wild horses and burros.

Can you chip in and help us continue to take the federal government to court when it refuses to turn over critical documents that bring to light the reality our wild horses and burros face?

One of the best examples of how FOIA has helped us is our work investigating the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which pays adopters $1,000 to take home wild horses or burros.

When we first heard that the AIP was sending adopted horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline, our investigative and legal teams leapt into action and filed dozens of FOIA requests to obtain the concrete evidence needed to expose the program. This work led to a front-page New York Times exposé, and heightened Congressional concern. 

It also supported our ongoing lawsuit against the illegal implementation of the AIP. Can you make a donation towards our $200,000 end-of-year goal to fuel our legal efforts, Meredith? We need your support to keep up the pressure on the BLM and Department of the Interior as this case continues.

Thank you!

Amelia Perrin
Investigations Manager