Thanks to increasing public awareness in recent years, a growing number of Americans are speaking out about what’s happening to wild horses. But sometimes, wild burros can be left out of the conversation.
Don’t let the name fool you – our team here at the American Wild Horse Campaign is dedicated to fighting every day to protect our nation’s wild burros.
According to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Fiscal Year 2024 roundup schedule, the agency is planning to remove over 2,640 burros from their homes this year. The largest of these roundups is happening right now in Arizona’s Black Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA), which is home to nearly 2,000 of these beloved animals. AWHC has deployed one of our humane observers to bear witness to this roundup and to document any animal welfare violations that may occur.
Unlike wild horses, who generally panic and stay together during roundups and follow their herd to the trap site, wild burros are stoic animals who often stand their ground in the face of the helicopters or scatter in an attempt to avoid capture. As a result, roundups can be even more traumatic for burros.
Photo by Darlene Smith
For example, in the first month and a half after Nevada’s Blue Wing Complex roundup last year, 31 burros died from a blood disease that can be brought on by extreme stress.
This is the fate that potentially awaits many of the burros the BLM plans to capture this year, including the Black Mountain burros. That’s why AWHC is working to end helicopter roundups and instead shift the government’s focus to implementing in-the-wild management to conserve our beloved burro populations – and the evidence our observers collect during these operations is vital to this mission.
As we count down to 2024, join us every day this month as we share stories from the barn that show how your support has helped horses this year and every year.
Brodie is excited to spend his first Christmas at his new home sweet home
BRODIE
Brodie is a handsome and sweet 2009 (est) Appaloosa gelding. He arrived at AAE in March 2021 when his owner was moving across the country. The new home she arranged for him fell through at the last minute, and she reached out to AAE for help. Brodie lived in a large pasture (~10ac) with a mare, and he enjoyed following her lead, though he was hesitant about to following her into our trailer.
Once at AAE, Brodie’s teeth and hoof care were updated, and he received vaccines, deworming, and a microchip. This big guy lacked confidence; he was like the cowardly lion with a big heart, but so afraid. He depended on his mare to keep him sane. If he wasn’t with her, he would get very anxious. Over time, his confidence has grown, and he evolved into a gentle giant.
Brodie has good looks and an athletic body. Before our move to Pilot Hill, Brodie spent time with a trainer (without his mare) building his confidence and learning new things. Besides basic groundwork, he was introduced to a saddle. He tried hard to do what was asked, but it was really difficult for him. He needed more confidence to carry a rider, so he came home, and we gave him more time.
Brodie has come a long way since the day we met him. He can be pulled out of the pasture for handling, grooming, or work without any anxiety or other behavior issues . He is easy to handle, but needs time to understand when being introduced to something new. He very much enjoys spending time with humans.
Best of all, Brodie was adopted this fall, and now, he has a human of his own now!
As we wind down the year, our goal is to raise at least $35,000 this holiday season to jump start our funding for the new year and make sure 2024 is merry & bright for horses-in-need.
Like you, we have felt the pressure of the changing economy. Hay, fuel, supplies, and other care costs have increased substantially. The effects are compounded for nonprofits across the country, as many of us have seen a decrease in overall donations. Rising costs and fewer donations are stretching us thin, impacting our ability to serve the number of horses we typically serve. We’ll scale back as we need. We need your support more than ever.
On average, it costs about $8 per horse each day for feed and health care for the horses at AAE. Expenses add up quickly when caring for 50+/- horses and other animals, including costs for basic care, diagnostics, treatments, medications, surgery, and emergency care, when needed.
We know your lives have been impacted, too, we’re all in this together. If you’re able, please consider making a year end donation to support this life-saving work and make it possible to help more horses-in-need.
Expenses can add up quickly, but your donations can, too! If every one of our followers made a $5 donation, we could surpass our goal by thousands.
You can help make similar stories to share next year by donating today. Any amount is very much appreciated, and it makes a big difference for the horses.
Start your own fundraiser on behalf of AAE! Then ask friends and family to donate as a gift for your birthday, Christmas, or just because, and help the horses of AAE! Click here to get started. If you have any questions, please email mccall@allaboutequine.org
Your donations, volunteering, adopting, and social media shares & likes really do make a difference and make all of this work possible!
Thanks for your gracious and continued support of AAE!
Velma B. Johnston, or Wild Horse Annie, was a tireless advocate for wild horses and burros, and her legacy lives on through the work AWHC does and through the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.
Wild Horse Annie saw the ruthless and indiscriminate manner in which wild horses were being rounded up from public lands during the 1950s in Nevada. At that time, America’s wild horse population was in rapid decline, and many of these incredible animals were captured by “mustangers” for slaughter.
Not being one to sit on the sidelines, Wild Horse Annie took matters into her own hands. She organized a massive grassroots movement to bring attention to this issue. She brought Americans from across the country together to push for groundbreaking legislation. In fact, she mobilized so many people that wild horse protection was the second most popular issue that constituents wrote to Congress about in 1971.
Because of the work of Wild Horse Annie, Congress unanimously passed the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. This is the most important legislation for wild horses in the United States, and we continue to see its impact today.
Today, 52 years later, the Act has been significantly weakened thanks to the lobbying efforts of special interest groups. That’s where AWHC comes in, our mission is to fulfill the promise made 52 years ago, but we can’t do it alone. With over 20,000 wild horses and burros targeted for roundups this year, our work has never been more important. Can you make a donation to help support our mission to continue the legacy Wild Horse Annie? >>
Our team has been working in the field to document the mistreatment of wild horses and burros, fighting to bring their stories to light, and litigating in the courts to protect these innocent animals. The thing is, we can’t do it alone.
“There is nothing so American as our national parks….The fundamental idea behind the parks…is that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Today is National Public Lands Day, a day celebrating the magnificent landscape that our nation’s beloved wild horses and burros call home.
Photo by Kimerlee Curyl
The conservation of our public lands — and the wildlife that inhabit them — is a proud statement of what Americans value. It’s a testament to our nation’s innate desire to protect what’s wild and free.
Currently, there are 640 million acres of federally protected land across the United States where elk trek the plains, eagles soar across the large western sky, and where wild horses and burros roam the rugged landscape.
But Meredith, our public lands, and our wild herds who inhabit them, are in danger. A century and a half ago, the U.S. supported almost two billion acres of public lands – nearly three times what it is today.
And alongside this dwindling public landscape has been the systematic elimination of America’s wild horses and burros’ habitat. These federally protected animals now live on just 27 million acres of public lands in ten Western states.
Worse, the federal government is determined to continue shrinking wild horse and burro populations even further as inhumane helicopter roundups continue, all while giving 97% of those lands — your lands — to the commercial livestock industry that has been lobbying for the removal of these innocent animals for decades and that wants to replace them with cattle and sheep grazing that we, the taxpayers, subsidize.
We know that there is a better way to manage our nation’s wild horses and burros on public lands where they belong. That’s why we’ve been fighting day in and day out in the field, in the courts, and on the Hill to conserve wild horses and burros for generations to come and protect the lands they call home. If you’re with us, please share this graphic on social media and join our fight.
#ImWithTheBand — our new social media awareness campaign — launched today with a reach of nearly 4 million people!
Music legend Carole King and actor Wendie Malick have Joined the Band to defend wild horse families (known as bands) from unprecedented threats to their future.
The Administration wants to slaughter tens of thousands of these innocent and iconic animals and drive their wild populations down to near extinction levels. We must tell Congress to stop this lethal plan!
Visit StandWithTheBands.org, where you’ll be able to create your “backstage pass” — your own shareable graphic — to promote on your social media pages, take action and watch our new educational video.
Help us harness the power of the people to save America’s mustangs…Join The Band today!!
We knew this was coming, and now our worst fears have been realized.
Yesterday, the Trump Administration released its budget request to Congress for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and it literally places the lives of over 90,000 wild horses and burros in jeopardy.
The Administration is asking Congress to lift the ban on killing healthy wild horses and burros or selling them for slaughter. The BLM wants permission to destroy “unadoptable” horses and burros as well as those it considers to be “excess” on the range. If Congress approves this request, the mass killing of the 46,000 wild horses and burros in holding facilities and the 46,000 “excess” animals on the range would begin.
We must make sure Congress stands firm against slaughtering our national icons!
This is going to be an intensive 4-6 month campaign to defeat this lethal budget proposal in Congress.
Right now, we need you to do these three things IMMEDIATELY!
1. Send a strong and unified message to Congress.
2. #JoinTheBand to send a tidal wave of public support for wild horses and burros on social media on May 30.
3. Donate so that we can elevate our grassroots and legislative campaigns to the seismic level necessary to save our national icons!
The fight is on to save our wild horses and burros! We’re ready, but we NEED your help. Let’s protect our wild horses and burros from this Administration’s lethal plans… Take action today!
On May 30, we want to send out a loud message calling on legislators to protect America’s wild horses, and we will do so using a platform called Thunderclap. It’s a tool that allows people to pledge a tweet or Facebook post that will be posted along with thousands of other supporters on the same day. Think of it as a massive flash mob on social media with a collective message calling on the world to Stand With America’s Wild Bands. It’s completely secure and will post a single, one-time message on your behalf. If all of our supporters take part, we can reach millions of people on May 30 when the message is blasted out. Only the power of the people can save our national heritage animals. Spreading the word is absolutely critical, and now it couldn’t be easier! If you’re With The Band, please sign up today!
The wild horses living in the Red Desert Complex in Wyoming need your help! The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing a massive roundup and removal of 2,096 horses, or 80% of the 2,620 horses residing in and around the Complex that includes the Antelope Hills, Crooks Mountain, Green Mountain, Lost Creek, and Stewart Creek Herd Management Areas. The BLM’s goal is to reach a low Appropriate Management Level of only 524 wild horses on 753,000 acres of public land. Please take a minute and submit your comments urging the BLM to consider more humane and effective alternatives to the proposed removal of Wyoming wild horses from their homes on the range… Click below to take action today!
Disaster is looming for America’s wild horses and burros. Congress just called for accelerated roundups and removal of tens of thousands of mustangs and burros from their homes on the range.
Beginning in July, helicopters will again descend our western public lands to terrorize and traumatize these peaceful animals.
Tiny foals will be stampeded for miles. Foals will be ripped from their mothers’ sides. Mares will be forcibly taken from their stallions… only to be separated forever and loaded onto trailers for their final ride.
In our lifetimes, more wild horses could disappear from on our public lands.
Contribute to the Wild Horse Crisis Fund to protect these innocent victims of government brutality.
Thank you for standing up for America’s wild horses and burros – only the power of the people can save them!
– Suzanne Roy, Executive Director
—-
The American Wild Horse Campaign is dedicated to preserving American wild horses and burros in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage.
The American Wild Horse Campaign is 501(c)3 non-profit. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our work.
I’m sorry to have to give you some devastating news. In the wee hours of Monday morning, Congress released a 1,600+ page spending bill for 2017. Buried on page 804 is Section 116, which allows the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to strip wild horses and burros of federal protection and “immediately” transfer them to state and local governments for use as “work animals.”
But with no definition of work animal, and no limit to the number of horses and burros that can be transferred, this language could provide a back door route to killing thousands of these national legacy animals. Although Congress added language prohibiting commercial slaughter and putting some restrictions on “euthanasia,” signalling its intent to prevent the killing of healthy horses. However, ambiguities and loopholes in the language leave it open to abuse. Especially at risk are the older mustangs and burros, now protected under federal law. Under the language these majestic, elder animals could be killed simply due to “advanced age,” a term that is undefined.
We can’t let this stand…Congress should not be allowed to undermine the will of the American people and a unanimously-passed Act of Congress – the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act – through a last-minute spending bill.
We have just hours to make our voices heard… Please click below NOW to call and send a message to key appropriators asking them to strip this devastating provision that could result in the killing of thousands – and potentially tens of thousands — of America’s cherished wild horses and burros.
If you do one thing for wild horses and burros, please do this now!
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is preparing to conduct its 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture. Horses will be included in the Census. Every five years, USDA-NASS conducts an agriculture census to determine the number of U.S. farms and ranches and gather vital information about U.S agriculture, including the horse community. The census is a valuable tool to help the USDA determine land use and ownership, livestock populations, operator characteristics, production practices, farm income as well as other important information.
The announcement of the USDA-NASS census comes as the American Horse Council has initiated their 2017 Equine Industry Economic Impact Study. The AHC economic study questionnaire will be finalized this month and begin collecting data in the following weeks. These two separate, yet concurrent studies will provide both the industry and the public with a strong image of the state of the industry in 2017. The AHC strongly encourages everyone who is offered the opportunity to participate in either, or both, of these studies to do so. The economic impact and the census are critical to promoting the horse industry.
The AHC continues to promote the USDA-NASS census due to the critical need for the horse community to be properly accounted for in the federal governments agricultural findings. The information collected by the Census will be used to develop federal and state agricultural policy for the next five years. It’s vital all farms and ranches with horses participate in the census so the USDA, and the nation at large, has accurate information regarding the size and scope of the horse community.
Farm or ranch owners who participated in the last Census in 2012 will automatically be mailed a survey that can be filled in and mailed back. If a farm or ranch was not part of the 2012 Census or has not received a form in the mail, the owner can go to the USDA’s census website http://www.agcensus.usda.gov and clicking on the ‘Make Sure You Are Counted’ button through June.
According to the USDA guidelines for the Census, a farm is any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products, including horses, were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the year.
Further information on the 2017 Census of Agriculture can be found on the USDA’s websitehttp://www.agcensus.usda.gov.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning to authorize a 44,000-acre expansion of an open pit gold mine in Nevada. The massive expansion will negatively impact wild horses in four Herd Management Areas by significantly reducing their habitat and subjecting them to increased vehicle traffic, noise, and human activities in the project area. The mine will also consume massive amounts of water in an area where water is already scarce, and where the BLM often uses lack of water as an excuse to remove wild horses from public lands. The agency is seeking public comments on an Environmental Impact Statement for this project – get your comments in today by clicking below.
Last month marked the second anniversary of the signing of our cooperative agreement with the State of Nevada for the humane management (via PZP birth control) of the historic and beloved Virginia Range wild horses near Reno. This community-based program has been a success and exceeded our established target goals. The Virginia Range horses are challenged by habitat loss due to encroaching development in this fast-growing area of northern Nevada. The program’s goal is to reduce the removal of horses from the range by humanely slowing population growth rates and reducing population numbers over time. Read more about this exciting public/private partnership that is Keeping Wild Horses Wild in Nevada by clicking below.
Last week, we scored another major legal victory when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the Nevada Association of Counties, the Nevada Farm Bureau and others seeking the removal of thousands of wild horses and burros from Nevada public lands. It was our third appellate court win in less than a year! The battle in federal court goes on, however, as wild horse opponents shift legal strategies in an attempt to force massive wild horse roundups. Read more about the ongoing battle and how you can help below.
The fight over the future of America’s wild horses and burros will take place in Washington, DC this year as the Administration charts a new course for the Department of the Interior and Congress funds the government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2017 and for Fiscal Year 2018. As an American citizen and taxpayer, YOU have both the right and ability to weigh in to influence these decisions. When it comes to your elected officials in DC, YOU – as a constituent – are the best lobbyist for protecting wild horses and burros from mass roundups and slaughter.
Click below to learn how to best wield your power and get started today!
Even if you can’t make it Wednesday, you can still join in the fun! We’ve created the opportunity for everyone to take part in our Silent Auction. Get a jumpstart on bidding on some fabulous items — including art by leading wild horse painters and photographers!
Bidding is super easy and can be done anywhere via text from your smartphone. You’ll even know via text if you’ve been outbid, so you can be sure to “win” whatever treasures you have your eyes on. We’ll be happy to ship your items to you for just the charge of shipping.
Every item purchased helps us continue the fight to ensure that our national treasures – wild horses and burros — remain free and secure on our public lands.
The following post comes from the American Wild Horse Preservation.
We anticipate that the U.S. House of Representatives will vote next week on the 2017 Interior Appropriations Bill, which currently includes dangerous language that opens the door to large-scale killing of wild horses and burros via transfer to other federal, state and local government agencies. The bill also contains report language that encourages sterilization of wild horses and burros, including by inhumane, invasive and dangerous surgical means.
This is the most serious threat to wild horses and burros since the 2004 Burns Amendment authorized the unrestricted sale of older and unadopted animals! Even if you have previously done so, it’s important to continue to contact your Congresspersons to let them know that you want them to uphold the will of the people and protect our wild horses and burros from slaughter for commercial or non-commercial purposes, and from barbaric sterilization practices. Please remember that calling as well as emailing will help to ensure that your message on behalf of wild horses and burros is heard!
The following article comes from the American Wild Horse Preservation.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking public input on its plan to conduct a roundup and birth control program in and around the Pine Nut Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA) – which includes the nearby Fish Springs area outside Gardnerville, Nevada. AWHPC is proud of our partnership with the Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates to keep the Fish Springs wild horses wild and believes that this program needs to be expanded. Please take a minute to submit your comments urging the BLM to continue the humane birth control program and forgo the proposed roundup and removal of horses. The Fish Springs humane management program happened because of public support – please show your support for the Pine Nut wild horses by submitting your comments today.
The following post comes from the American Wild Horse Preservation.
These are dangerous times on Capitol Hill as public lands ranchers and their political allies in Congress and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) make their moves to lift the prohibition on killing healthy wild horses and burros and selling them for slaughter. Their agenda is clear: mass roundups and removals, mass killing/slaughter of more than 80,000 wild horses and burros (those in holding and those considered “excess” on the range), and the surgical sterilization of wild horses and burros that remain on the range after the mass removals take place.
We need you to weigh in NOW by contacting your elected representatives in Congress. Please urge them to resist any efforts to remove the ban on slaughtering America’s wild horses and oppose any language that creates a back door route to slaughter for these iconic animals.
They want to kill over 80,000 wild horses & help sterilize the rest. Help us stop them.
At a rigged oversight hearing on Capitol Hill last week, Rep. Cynthia Loomis (R-WY) called for the “lovely and peaceful” killing of all the wild horses and burros in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding pens because their “wild lives are over.” Nevada rancher JJ Goicoechea called for mass roundups and sterilization.
The livestock industry agenda for our national symbols of freedom is nothing short of un-American and we can stop it…with your help.
Please donate as generously as you can to support our legislative, legal and grassroots efforts to save America’s majestic mustangs and burros. We can do this, because we have the power of the people on our side!
A New Way to Give
.jpg)
.jpg)
