Every year, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) uses helicopters to brutally round up thousands of wild horses and burros. The majority of these roundups occur in remote areas of the West — out of the public’s eye. Our team of observers work to document these operations to hold the BLM accountableand to educate the public as to what’s happening to our federally protected wild horses and burros.
The BLM and its contractors that execute these helicopter stampedes have placed a number of restrictions on public observation, creating a significant lack of transparency at the site of these traumatic roundups.
We’ve seen time and time again that the public observation areas for each roundup are simply not enough to hold the BLM fully accountable. At the Wyoming Checkerboard roundup this past year, our team was placed over a mile away from the trap site andin a spot where terrain blocked most of our view.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) may have grounded its helicopters for the 2022 wild horse foaling season, but thousands of burros are still stuck in the crosshairs starting next month.
We send humane observers to bear witness to these devastating roundups, and , they are reporting some recurring and upsetting themes; a significant lack of transparency from the BLM and its contractors during the operations and a concerning number of injuries and deaths.
Today is the first email in a series where we’ll be sharing the costs and consequences of the BLM’s roundup program. Over the next few days, you’ll be hearing from us with observations from the field that highlight just why the BLM’s program urgently needs reform.
The massive roundup that ended earlier this year in Wyoming’s Checkerboard region resulted in the removal of an astounding 4,161 wild horses, making this the largest wild horse roundup in history. The toll was steep: 37 of these cherished animals lost their lives as a result of the helicopter roundup itself, while dozens more died in the holding pens in the month after the operation ended.
Our investigations, based on information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, have revealed that the BLM is dramatically under-reporting the mortality rate of helicopter roundups by excluding the deaths that occur in the holding pens days and weeks after the roundups end.
This is unacceptable. Wild horses are being chased to pure exhaustion in a run for their freedom and their lives. Far too many die after sustaining traumatic injuries such as broken limbs and necks.
Wild horses and burros get a bad rap in the media. These American icons are all too often labeled “invasive” and scapegoated as the cause of land degradation in the West.
We both know that’s not true. So we’re working to change the narrative from this:
The plight faced by our cherished wild horses and burros is fueled by misinformation. These innocent animals are blamed for environmental damage across the West when they only inhabit a tiny fraction of our public lands. In fact, research implicates commercial livestock grazing, not wild horses, as the primary cause of land degradation.
The livestock industry has lobbied Congress for decades, blaming wild horses and burros with flawed statistics to try and get its way — well, we won’t have it.
As our organization and supporter base rapidly grows, so does our influence on Capitol Hill.We’ve built relationships with wild horse champions at the local, state, and federal levels and will continue to be the legislative voice of our cherished wild herds.
We’re demonstrating through our PZP program on the Virginia Range in Nevada that humane, in-the-wild management works. And we’re meticulously tracking and reporting on the successes of this program to show Congress and the media that there is a better way to manage wild horses and burros than costly and deadly helicopter roundups.
Congress just released its Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations omnibus spending bill — and in it, we successfully secured the humane immunocontraceptive fertility control funding and other language that our government relations team has been advocating for since this time last year!
Firstly, I want to say thank you — wild horse advocates and AWHC supporters like you fought alongside us over the last 12 months to make this language possible.
It’s a critical first step in our fight to preserve the freedom of America’s wild horses and burros. But that’s just what it is — a first step.
When passed, the bill will ensure that up to $11 million of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) budget must go toward humane immunocontraceptive fertility control treatment and research, effectively diverting funds away from brutal and deadly helicopter roundups.
However, we’re disappointed that the bill provides increased funding overall for roundups and removal — a total of $21 million over the FY21 funding levels. But fortunately, Congress ultimately appropriated significantly less funding than what was provided in the original FY22 House and Senate bills, and less than the $35 million increase that was requested by the Administration.
Despite scientific evidence, wild horses and burros are still being scapegoated for land degradation and climate change, even though research shows commercial livestock grazing is the real environmental threat to public lands. The omnibus also creates an interagency task force to deal with the “crisis” of growing wild horse populations — something we will be keeping a close eye on.
While parts of this spending bill are deeply concerning, the bill does also include long-standing anti-slaughter provisions that effectively prevent horse slaughter plants from operating in the U.S. and prohibit the slaughter of federally protected wild horses and burros for the remainder of the fiscal year.
So : This is a strong step in the right direction, and we must acknowledge the progress we are making. Our fight to preserve the freedom of America’s wild horses and burros will not happen overnight. This battle is a marathon, not a sprint.
We will continue our work and research in the field to prove that humane management works and keeps wild horses in the wild where they belong. We will take this work and the full force of our strong advocate base to Congress to back up our calls for action. And when the BLM violates the law protecting wild horses and burros, we will go to court and fight on behalf of these cherished animals.
My name is Melissa and I just joined AWHC as their new Deputy Director. I’m reaching out today to share my story about why I’m all in on the fight to protect America’s wild horses and burros.
I’ve always been a photographer at heart. As a passionate advocate for animal protection, I’ve been behind the lens — as the owner of RJStein Photography — to bring awareness to the plight of wild mustangs.
My journey began in 2018, when I attended a photography workshop in Utah with the beloved Onaqui wild horses. I’ll never forget the moment — first I saw the dust clouds on the horizon, then I heard their hooves from afar. All of a sudden dozens of the most magnificent wild horses crested the hill and I was able to capture every stunning moment through the lens of my camera. It was truly life changing.
When I looked at my photos, I was awestruck by a beautiful dun pinto stallion who was known as Stargazer. He was living as a bachelor back then, and hadn’t yet started his family. I was in love. I continued to go to Onaqui over the next several years to visit with Stargazer and was delighted when he finally found his first and only mare — a beautiful grey mustang named Northstar, or Nora for short.
In 2021, the BLM’s helicopters descended on the Onaqui wild horses, and Stargazer was captured. This once brave stallion looked so lost and confused. Not only that, but he was without Nora.
At that moment — looking at the photos of him being rounded up still makes me cry — I was determined to reunite him with Nora so their story could continue on. I refused to allow their bond to be destroyed by the BLM. My husband and I adopted the pair so that they could live happily together on our farm — the next best thing to being wild and free. It is so special to know that they can never be torn apart again.
Photo credit: Darlene Smith Photography
I wanted to share this story because it’s a critical part of why I joined AWHC — it is the largest grassroots organization in the U.S. doing real, meaningful work to protect our cherished wild horses and burros.
Over the last month, our team has been busy polling American voters about the plight of wild horses. And after much analysis, we are very excited to announce the astounding results:
74%of American voters, regardless of political affiliation, oppose helicopter roundups of wild horses and burros.
3/4 Americans oppose the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) 2022 plans to round up and remove 19,000 wild horses and burros from public lands.
88% of Americans want our nation’s wild horses and burros protected on the public lands they call home.
79% of Americans oppose the slaughter of wild horses for human consumption.
Right off the bat, 72% of Americans oppose removing wild horses from their natural habitat, which increases to 75% once they hear more information!
Right now, Congress is considering legislation that could ban the use of helicopter roundups for good. Congress passed legislation in 1971 to protect wild horses and burros, yet the BLM’s current roundup plans would reduce wild horse populations to the pre-protection levels that pushed Congress to act over 50 years ago!
Wild horses and burros need our help now more than ever. Congress needs to hear from taxpayers like you that American constituents want to see wild horses and burros protected!
While the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) helicopters may be grounded until April when the agency starts rounding up wild burros, 19,000 wild horses and burros are still at risk of permanent removal from their homes on our public lands this year.
Speaking up for our wild herds right now will help us keep family bands intact and preserve the freedom of thousands of these cherished animals in the wild where they belong!
The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) helicopters have officially stopped rounding up wild horses for the 2022 foaling season, which runs from March through June.
This is a time when the BLM grounds their helicopters for four months as mares give birth and tiny foals are on the ground. But this year, the helicopters will continue to fly.The target? Wild burros. The BLM’s rationale? Burros do not have a distinct foaling season, so they are fair game year-round.
Unlike horses, who will generally stay together in their social groups as they are chased into traps, burros tend to scatter and stand firm against the helicopters, resulting in prolonged and traumatic chases in extreme desert conditions. The skids of helicopters have even been documented hitting burros in the chase.
So, while wild horses may be getting a respite during this year’s foaling season, nearly 2,000 wild burros will lose their freedom starting in April.
And, AWHC will not stop fighting for them. In addition to sending observers to witness and record the unprecedented number of burro helicopter roundups, our work in the field to establish fertility control as a humane management alternative continues. We’ll also be on Capitol Hill, supporting the 2022 Horse Protection Platform, which includes banning the use of helicopters to round up wild horses and burros. In the courts, we’ll be litigating to end the BLM’s cash incentive adoption program that is sending “truckloads” of wild horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline.
Your support has helped us make historic strides in the fight for wild horses and burro protection.
Through your actions, we’ve saved hundreds of horses and burros from slaughter. We’ve gained momentum in Congress with champions like Representatives Steve Cohen and Dina Titus. And we’ve started funding scientific initiatives. Thanks to you, we’re supporting research on the important role wild horses and burros play in Western ecosystems and analysis to prove humane fertility control ultimately cuts costs for American taxpayers.
A few short weeks ago, our investigative team emailed you with important information regarding who specifically is profiting from the brutal and inhumane practice of wild horse and burro helicopter roundups.
The sad reality is, that an astounding 89% of the Bureau of Land Management & U.S. Forest Service helicopter roundup contracts go to cattlemen — the very same people who have been lobbying for the removal of wild horses and burros from our public lands for decades.
We received an outpouring of support since our last email, and so today we’re asking you to use your online voice and help us continue to spread awareness about this incredibly important issue.
Our team put together a new graphic that you can share on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social platform you use to spread awareness around the plight of our wild horses and burros. Will you share this graphic to your social networks?
Spreading awareness about the threats our cherished wild mustangs and burros continue to face is one of the best ways we can enact change to protect these innocent animals. Growing our network of wild horse advocates like you means more calls to legislators for wild horse protections, more American taxpayers standing up for what their money is used for, and ultimately a better life for wild horses and burros.
Today we wanted to bring you some good news: Four youngsters from the famed Onaqui herd are now out of mud-ridden government holding pens and are starting their new lives!
These horses were rounded up late last summer during the devastating roundup across the Onaqui Herd Management Area (HMA) and have lived in a cramped government facility ever since, where they haven’t been able to run or play like young wild horses do.
But thanks to their adopter and AWHC Board President, Ellie Price, they’ll now get a second chance at a good life at her wild horse sanctuary, Montgomery Creek Ranch, as they learn to trust people and become someone’s companion in a forever home!
We love happy endings like that of these young mustangs, and we’re working hard to bring even more happy endings to thousands of other wild horses and burros. Are you with us?
That’s how many wild horses and burros the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning to remove from the wild this year. And sadly, that astounding number is just the beginning of the agency’s multi-year-long effort to rid western public lands of most of these iconic animals.
When our team heard about an influx of BLM mustangs and burros to kill pens, we investigated and documented a clear link between the BLM’s cash incentive adoption program and the increased number of wild horses and burros being sold at slaughter auctions. We got the New York Times to expose it.
Any day now, the BLM will release a plan to conduct its final assault on the wild horses of the Wyoming Checkerboard. As if the recent removal of nearly 4,000 of these animals wasn’t enough, the agency has future plans to round up and remove every wild horse that lives in the Great Divide Basin and Salt Wells Creek Herd Management Areas (HMA), drastically reduce the number of wild horses living in the Adobe Town HMA, and either eradicate the White Mountain wild horses immediately or slowly over time, by leaving a non-reproducing population of 200 surgically sterilized mustangs.
We wanted to share some recent updates about roundups, a happy ending for a few rescued burros, and actions you can take to help protect Wyoming’s wild horses from further danger. Read on and see how you can help to protect these cherished animals. >>
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released an Environmental Assessment on a management plan for the North Lander Complex in Wyoming. The proposed action would reduce the wild horse population from 2,000 to 320, skew the sex ratio to 60/40 in favor of stallions, castrate 95% of the captured males, insert unproven IUDs into a portion of the mares captured and administer an experimental fertility control vaccine GonaCon to all mares slated to be released.
Nearly 50 federally-protected wild mustangs died in the aftermath of the government’s recent roundup of the Great Divide Basin wild horses of Wyoming. The BLM officially reported the deaths of six mustangs following the roundup, which took place from October 5, 2021 to November 7, 2021, but didn’t release any information regarding the deaths of animals once they were removed from the range.
Under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, AWHC was able to obtain records that an additional 43 wild horses from the Great Divide Basin died or were euthanized while in holding just 90 days after the roundup. The Wyoming Checkerboard roundup was the largest on record by the BLM, with more than 3,500 animals permanently removed from the range.
Four other wild horse herds were removed during the operation, and we expect to see significantly higher death rates as those records come in. The BLM has announced more of such operations across the West for 2022, with plans to remove an unprecedented number of horses. Learn more here. >>
In an effort to permanently put an end to horse slaughter, AWHC has partnered with the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) as a sponsoring organization of the Homes for Horses Coalition. The Homes for Horses Coalition (HHC) is a national initiative made up of more than 520 member organizations with the ultimate goal of ending horse slaughter and all other forms of equine abuse for good.
Through this initiative, AWHC joins AWI in supporting the boots-on-the-ground rescues by providing advocacy leadership to address the root causes of the problem while providing resources to strengthen the nonprofits doing heroic jobs to help horses in need.
Right now, AWHC continues to push for the passage of the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act in Congress, which would permanently prevent horse slaughter plants from opening in the U.S. and stop the export of horses, burros, and donkeys for slaughter. Learn more here. >>
AWHC’s Rescue Fund helps us to fuel rescue missions across the country. From orphaned or injured foals on Nevada’s Virginia Range to mustangs and burros in kill pens — your support helps us save the lives of these treasured animals when they desperately need our help. Recently, we coordinated the rescue of 4 BLM-branded burros from a kill pen in the Midwest. AWHC Board President and owner of Montgomery Creek Ranch Wild Horse Sanctuary, Ellie Phipps Price agreed to take them in.
When rescued, the burros were in very rough shape — three of these innocent animals had open wounds all over their bodies from a hot brand. The older white burro has a fallen crest, meaning his neck muscle hangs over to the side. They spent a few weeks at a quarantine shelter to treat their wounds and get them healthy enough for transport. Finally, they were healthy enough to go to Montgomery Creek Ranch where they will continue to heal and be prepped for adoption.
One of our favorite stories from the range is perfect for a day that celebrates love. Renowned wild horse photographer and friend of AWHC, Kimerlee Curyl tells it best:
“InWyoming, I came across this gorgeous snow-white mare, very heavy in foal. I thought she could have that baby any second, she was so large and moving slow. A commotion erupted as the stallion attempted to chase off a band of young bachelors that had approached her. The other mares in her herd kept close to her as he fought with the challenging group. He successfully won his battle, and swiftly returned to her side, positioning himself perfectly so she could rest her head on him in the warm afternoon sun.”
Photo credit: Kimerlee Curyl
Wild horses are very social and family-oriented, and the bonds between individuals are strong. This is why it’s so important to keep them wild, together with their families, where they belong.
Valentine’s Day is all about love — and we appreciate the love you have for our wild horses and burros and all you do to fight for their freedom and their families.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Meredith! May your day be filled with lots of love.
As the American Wild Horse Campaign’s Director of Government Relations, I wanted to share two very exciting wins we had on the Hill this week:
On Monday evening, Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) sent a letter to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland calling for the suspension of the BLM’s wild horse and burro roundup plans for the 2022 fiscal year.
AND, late yesterday, Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced federal legislation that would ban the use of helicopters to round up wild horses and burros, which is often deadly and traumatic.
While there is much at stake for these cherished icons — the BLM’s 2022 plans call for the permanent removal of 19,000 wild horses and burros this year — we are grateful to have steadfast champions like Reps. Cohen and Titus in Congress calling for better treatment and management of our wild herds.
Growing awareness around the plight of our wild horses and burros is an ongoing battle — livestock ranchers and other special interests have lobbied Congress for decades to scapegoat these innocent animals so that their cattle and sheep can graze on our public lands.
Your support helps us educate members of Congress on the threats facing wild horses and burros, like how their “federally protected” status doesn’t guarantee their freedom, but rather deadly helicopter roundups and mud-ridden holding facilities, how the BLM continues to use unproven IUDs instead of scientifically proven, humane PZP vaccines, and how the BLM’s current plan could decimate America’s wild horse and burro populations.
AWHC’s congressional work is critically important to the livelihood of our wild herds. When we create partnerships with allies on the Hill, we create progress. This week’s wins for wild horses and burros are an example of just that.
Thank you so much to everyone who renewed their support over the last month to help us protect America’s wild horses and burros in 2022 and the years to come. We’re grateful for your generosity and dedication to protecting our wild herds.
Every single year, thousands of America’s wild horses and burros are brutally chased by low-flying helicopters and cruelly captured. These cherished animals that once freely roamed our public lands are sent to holding facilities across the country, costing them their families, their freedom, and for some of them — their lives. Far too many are ending up in the slaughter pipeline through a BLM program that pays individuals $1,000 per animal to adopt up to four untamed wild horses or burros per year.
What happens during these roundups is equally as upsetting — wild horses and foals run for their lives, chased to pure exhaustion. Foals are left abandoned and hungry without their mothers, and panicked horses break their limbs, backs, or necks during the chase or in the trap pens.
The continuation of helicopter roundups as the primary method of population management is fiscally reckless, unscientific, and grossly inhumane. The BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program needs reform and it needs it now.
The BLM is in Year 2 of a devastating, accelerated roundup plan that aims to remove as many as 20,000 wild horses and burros per year over the next five years. In 2022, the BLM is conducting aggressive roundups that will remove 19,000 wild horses and burros from their homes on our public lands.
If we don’t speak up for America’s wild horses and burros, thousands more will be mistreated at the hands of the BLM and their contractors. Just this month, the BLM finished the largest roundup in U.S. history in the Wyoming Checkerboard, throwing nearly 4,000 formerly free-roaming wild horses into feedlot pens and leaving behind a trail of animal welfare violations. Action must be taken to drastically reform this mismanaged program.
Introducing our OFFICIAL 2022 American Wild Horse Campaign Member Card:
We have so much in store for 2022. Not only are we continuing our fight on the Hill, in the courts, and in the field — we’re also working on a number of groundbreaking new initiatives — all in the name of keeping wild horses and burros in the wild where they belong.
We’re laser-focused on the fight to preserve the freedom of our wild mustangs and burros. That means in 2022, we are … proving through our PZP program on Nevada’s Virginia Range that humane in the wild management works … expanding our investigative team to uncover abuse and hold the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) accountable … continuing our lawsuit against the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program that’s sending horses and burros to slaughter … working with a prestigious university to make roundup violations enforceable by law … and so much more!!
Last year, we uncovered that hundreds of wild horses and burros were sent into the slaughter pipeline as a result of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP).
After our work led to a New York Times front-page report exposing the program for its devastating failure to protect America’s wild herds, members of the public, wild horse advocates, and Congress stepped up to call for the suspension of the AIP and for large-scale, meaningful changes to the program.
Earlier this week, the BLM announced a new set of reforms to the AIP, let me be clear: These reforms do not go far enough.
Despite the recommendation from its own advisory board, the BLM failed to eliminate the cash incentive feature of the program — a critical reason why so many wild horses and burros are ending up in kill pens across the country.
Meredith: In the last 15 months, our team has identified over 500 wild horses and burros in kill pens — many of these innocent animals we’ve confirmed to be victims of the AIP.
The cash incentive payments are a critical flaw of the AIP — with the new changes the BLM announced, adopters are now receiving lump-sum payments of $1,000 per animal at the end of 12-months, and are still able to adopt up to 4 animals per year. This means that once adopters collect their money, they still have the ability to dump these innocent animals in kill pens like trash.
Today, we are so excited to share with you our next initiative in our fight to protect horses and burros — both wild and domestic — from slaughter!
Despite their federal protection, wild horses and burros continue to face the ever-present threat of brutal helicopter roundups — a tragic result of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) mismanaged Wild Horse and Burro Program. Once captured, these innocent animals are stripped of their freedom and forced into holding, many entering the slaughter pipeline.
In an effort to permanently put an end to horse slaughter, we have partnered with the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) as a sponsoring organization of the Homes for Horses Coalition!
The Homes for Horses Coalition (HHC) is a national initiative made up of more than 520 member organizations with the ultimate goal of ending horse slaughter and all other forms of equine abuse for good.
Each year, tens of thousands of American horses and burros are exported for slaughter to Mexico and Canada for human consumption in foreign markets. And as we exposed last year through our investigative work, the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program is placing “truckloads” of our iconic wild horses and burros in imminent danger of becoming victims of the brutal industry.
The BLM’s proposed roundups are only accelerating, and as a result, an increasing number of federally protected wild mustangs and burros are expected to enter the pipeline in the coming years.
Through our new role with HHC, we’ll be joining AWI in supporting the boots-on-the-ground rescues by providing advocacy leadership and resources to strengthen the nonprofits doing heroic jobs to help horses in need.
HHC is the only network of its kind in the nation, and we couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this important effort. It’s time to end horse slaughter once and for all. Are you with us?
Stay tuned for more updates and announcements from the coalition!
The wild horses of the Onaqui Herd Management Area (HMA) just outside of Dugway, Utah are some of the most well-known and well-loved mustangs in the country. Photographers and tourists from all over the world flock to this 200,000-acre public land area to spend time with the animals they have come to know and love, including revered wild horses like Old Man, Red Lion, or, Diamond and DeeDee — a stunning mother-daughter duo.
Photo by PJ Kaszas
It’s no matter that DeeDee was born to Diamond over 7 years ago. She has remained by her mother’s side ever since, napping, grazing, and raising her own young. It’s the wild horse way and why we love them: their relationships with one another are strong, intricate, and dynamic.
So it was devastating to local advocates when the helicopters descended on the HMA in July of 2021, and threatened to rip this pair — and their unique bond — apart. They ended up being captured in the operation along with over 400 other cherished mustangs, and have been stuck in a mud-ridden holding facility since. Visitors to the corrals noted that the pair still clung together, amidst the trauma they endured.
Local advocates worked tirelessly to find a home for Diamond and DeeDee together and lucked out when AWHC Board Member and owner of Freedom Reigns Equine Sanctuary, Alicia Goetz stepped up and agreed to welcome the mares to her herd of nearly 500 rescued horses on her almost 4,000-acre sanctuary.
Photo by Kimerlee Curyl
And on Wednesday, we were onsite to welcome the special mother-daughter pair to their new life. After they cautiously came off the trailer, they took to the ground and began to roll. Photographer Kimerlee Curyl, spoke of the moment best:
“I began to get teary as I watched the caked mud and manure fall off of them as they rolled around in the new green grass of their temporary enclosure. To me, it represented the shedding of their life in holding and that terrible roundup. It was a beautiful and emotional day.”
It really was a beautiful day.
Photo by Kimerlee Curyl
After their quarantine period is up, Diamond and DeeDee will be released out to the main sanctuary to roam over thousands of acres of rolling hills.
We are grateful to the local advocates who worked so hard to keep this family together, and to Alicia for her commitment to ensuring that Diamond and DeeDee live the remainder of their lives at Freedom Reigns, the next best thing to being wild and free.
