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Helicopters are descending on thousands of Nevada’s iconic wild horses right now

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Just two weeks ago, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) launched a large-scale roundup in Nevada’s Triple B Complex. The agency plans to capture and remove more than 2,000 wild horses from the area, and already, over 1,400 have lost their freedom. Even more heartbreaking, 13 horses have tragically lost their lives since this roundup began. Many died from broken necks and legs and far too many were euthanized by the BLM for treatable conditions, like sway backs.

This is the devastating reality our wild horses and burros face every day, and it’s why our fight to protect them is so urgent. These brutal roundups must end, and we’re doing everything in our power to make that happen — from documenting and exposing these tragedies, to pushing for humane solutions and government accountability.

Right now, we have a chance to significantly amplify our impact, but we need your help. Thanks to some generous donors, every single gift made will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $90,000, doubling the resources we can dedicate to protecting wild horses and burros.

But, this match will only be unlocked if we reach our initial goal of $50,000 by midnight TOMORROW, Thursday, November 21. We’re making progress, but your support is essential to ensure we don’t miss this opportunity. Can you chip in today and help us unlock this critical 2X match?

MAKE A 2X IMPACT

Every donation you make will go twice as far to help us fight against cruel roundups like the one in Nevada. It will enable our team to keep advocating for wild horses — out in the field, in the courtroom, and in the halls of Congress.

Our wild herds deserve better. With your support, we can continue to be their voice and fight for their freedom. Please help us unlock this critical matching gift and double your impact today.

DONATE TO DOUBLE YOUR GIFT

Thank you for standing with us and the wild horses who need you.

Team AWHC

How you can double your impact for wild horses this winter

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

I have some exciting news to share as we continue to prepare for Giving Tuesday, our most critical fundraising day of the year. Thanks to the generosity of some of AWHC’s most dedicated donors, every Giving Tuesday donation will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to $90,000! This incredible opportunity means that, with your support, we have the potential to raise $180,000 to fuel our critical work to protect wild horses and burros.

But there’s a catch: This match will only be unlocked if we reach our $50,000 goal before the end of the day on Thursday, November 21. That’s why your support right now is so important.

Please consider making a donation today to help us reach this critical milestone and unlock the full potential of this matching gift. Your contribution will have double the impact on our fight to keep wild horses and burros wild and free.

DONATE

Your support powers our work in the field, in the courts, and on Capitol Hill. As you know, federal mismanagement continues to put wild horses and burros at grave risk—subjecting them to inhumane roundups, indefinite confinement, and even the threat of slaughter. Our team works tirelessly to expose these cruelties, hold the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) accountable, and champion humane, long-term conservation solutions that keep these iconic animals free in the wild where they belong.

Unlocking this matching opportunity would be a tremendous boost for 2025 and beyond, amplifying every dollar we raise to protect the freedom and lives of America’s wild horses and burros.

Please, make a donation today to double your impact and help us unlock this vital $90,000 match. Together, we can achieve so much for these iconic animals.

DONATE

Thank you,

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Conservation

Here are our top three priorities for 2025

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Our work here at American Wild Horse Conservation never stops. With 2025 just around the corner, we’re already laying the groundwork for continuing our fight for the freedom of our wild herds next year.

HELP US PREPARE FOR 2025 >>

With the new year comes a new administration and a new Congress. Changes in leadership can present fresh opportunities to advance the cause of wild horse conservation, but it can also bring new risks, such as reopening the door to increased roundups and slaughter of these cherished animals. In order to ensure that the progress we’ve made for wild horses and burros continues next year, we’re focusing on four key areas of our work:

  1. Growing and Mobilizing Grassroots Support: Expanding our public awareness campaigns and grassroots activities is critical in order to translate the broad bipartisan public support for wild horse protection into stronger bipartisan legislative protections. We must be ready to quickly rally public opposition against any potential slaughter proposals that resurface. In 2016, we successfully mobilized our grassroots coalition to prevent the White House’s attempt to lift the slaughter ban on wild horses. Due to public pressure, the Senate ultimately blocked the measure. With the growing number of horses in holding, the threat of slaughter persists, and we must be prepared to act again as the last line of defense for our wild herds.
  2. Expanding our legal fund: Expanding our litigation capacity and our legal fund will be critical to continuing to defend the laws that protect wild horses and burros. Our legal team has been at the forefront of numerous court battles to defend wild equines from roundups across the country. In Wyoming, we’ve been fighting in federal court for over a decade to prevent the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from eliminating 2.1 million acres of federally designated habitat for wild horses and slashing the state’s wild horse population by one-third.
  3. Expanding Legal and Humane Management Models: From our groundbreaking Land Conservancy Project to our in-the-wild fertility control programs, AWHC will continue to build solutions that serve as national models for humane conservation of our nation’s wild herds. Through the success of these programs, AWHC is working to chip away at the false narrative that wild horses are invasive or ecologically harmful.

We have a lot in store for us in 2025. Grassroots supporters like you are the foundation of the work we do to protect our wild herds. We’re counting on your continued support to help us achieve our ambitious goals for wild horses and burros in the coming year. Can you chip in whatever you can afford today to power our work for wild horse conservation?

POWER OUR WORK

Thank you,

Team AWHC

Help Us Keep Wild Horse Roundups in Plain Sight

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Urgent Action Needed:
Roundups Hidden From Sight

This is Amelia Perrin with American Wild Horse Conservation. I’m reaching out because we need your help. Thanks to your past contributions, we’ve been able to document federal wild horse roundups, ensuring greater public visibility and enabling legislators and advocates to take action. Your support has played a vital role in shining a light on these operations.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced plans to capture more than 10,000 wild horses this year — but from what we’ve observed so far, the federal government is shielding much of this action from public view.
Take Action
The ongoing federal roundup conducted by the United States Forest Service in Devils Garden Wild Horse Territory in California is a prime example of this. Here are a few recently documented observations from our on-the-ground volunteers:

  • – October 29: The trap site (place set up to capture wild horses) was hidden under thick tree cover, making it impossible for the public to observe.
  • – November 1: No public access to view the trap site or the horses being loaded up and transported out of their habitat in the public land area.
  • – November 6: Observers were placed behind the loading area, with a hill blocking crucial sightlines to the trap site and other roundup action.

Helicopter roundups are taking place in our public lands, and yet public access is being blocked. When the lives of federally protected wild horses are at stake, transparency cannot be an afterthought.
Take Action
We’re calling on the BLM to put cameras on helicopters and wranglers, ensuring the whole operation is visible. When these roundups go dark, it’s more than a lack of transparency — it’s a breach of public trust.
The stakes are high: to ensure wild horses are treated humanely, we need roundups that are transparent to the public eye. Click “Take Action” to take action today, to support our work and make sure we all have eyes on these operations.
Together in pursuit of keeping wild horses wild,
Amelia Perrin
American Wild Horse Conservation

Help us set the stage for our biggest moment of the year

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Our most important fundraising day of the year is just three weeks away.

This year, Giving Tuesday is December 3.

We’ve challenged our team to raise $50,000 by November 21 to kick off a successful season of giving and inspire generous, essential donor matches that will help us achieve our advocacy goals for 2025. Can you chip in today to help us set the stage for Giving Tuesday and power our work to protect wild horses and burros?

GIVE NOW

There’s a lot at stake. As we look ahead at a new fiscal year with a new administration and Congress directing federal agencies, our efforts are more important than ever. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wild horse and burro roundup and stockpile system is near its breaking point with over 66,000 animals currently languishing in federal holding facilities.

In fact, as we write this, two devastating federal helicopter roundups are underway in Nevada and California targeting nearly 3,000 wild horses. Chased by helicopters over rugged terrain, these horses will endure high-stress conditions, risking injury, exhaustion, and separation from their families. Ten horses have already died. 

Yet these disturbing realities do not change the BLM’s plans to round up thousands more horses and burros in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. 

Every day, our team continues to expose federal cruelties and hold the BLM accountable. Will you help power our fight to keep wild horses and burros wild?

GIVE NOW

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

Public Comments Needed for Nevada Wild Horses!

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Over 7,500 wild horses from Nevada’s Antelope and Triple B Complexes need your help! Right now, the Bureau of Land Management is accepting public comments on a Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) for these two complexes and the wild horses who call this area home.

As part of this, the BLM wants to reduce the number of horses to the unscientific Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 899-1,678 animals across the complexes. But at the same time, the BLM allows significant livestock grazing year-round on the public lands in these complexes.

TAKE ACTION

These horses are an important part of Nevada’s desert landscape, especially the Antelope wild horses who possess unique genetic traits. It’s essential to conserve these iconic animals on our public lands. Speak up now for Nevada’s wild horses!

When evaluating this HMAP the BLM Must:

  • Reevaluate the land conditions, including the impact of livestock on the range, before any removal decision is made.
  • Include new conservation methods that transparently address primary degradation factors, and promote balanced ecosystems and sustainable land use across public rangelands.
  • Prioritize fertility control over roundups, aligning with legal directives, science-based strategies, and fiscal responsibility for effective wild horse management.
  • Abandon the use of gelding as a population management strategy.
  • Prioritize bait trap removals over cruel, costly helicopter roundups if roundups are necessary.
  • Undergo updated genetic testing to ensure genetic viability for all herds who call these complexes home.
TAKE ACTION

Submitting public comments is one of our more influential ways to shape policy, ensure government transparency, prevent decisions that favor private industry interests, and show public support for humane conservation for our beloved wild horses and burros. Take action now to speak up for these beloved wild horse herds!

Thank you for your advocacy for our wild ones,

Team AWHC

Fulfilling America’s promise to our wild herds

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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.

POWER OUR WORK

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.

SUPPORT OUR CONSERVATION EFFORTS

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.

POWER OUR WORK

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

This week’s eNews: A Daring Nighttime Rescue

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Our team has been hard at work advocating for wild horses in the field, on the Hill, and everywhere in between. Keep reading to discover the highlights from the last few weeks and learn how you can take action!

Wild Horse Conference at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center Aims to Educate Workforce About Wild Horse Safety

We recently held a conference at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center to raise awareness about wild horse management and educate the local businesses. The event aimed to inform employees about local wild horse populations, addressing the need for humane treatment and peaceful coexistence as industrial development expands. The conference is part of a broader initiative to foster understanding and responsible stewardship of Nevada’s iconic wild horses. Read more about the conference!

READ MORE

Western Watersheds Project Calls Foul on New Study Scapegoating Wild Horses

A recent University of Wyoming study on sage grouse scapegoated wild horses, while completely ignoring the impacts of cattle on this protected bird’s habitat. Erik Molvar, executive director of Western Watersheds Project, recently raised concerns about the “extreme level of scientific bias” exposed by this study in a recent opinion piece. Read on to learn more!

READ MORE

A Daring Nighttime Rescue

At 6:30 Wednesday evening, a call came into the Wild Horse Hotline that a horse was stuck in a cattle guard near the Flanagan Herd Area (HA), which is just south of the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area (HMA). AWHC’s Deana and Tracy Wilson, both assistant supervisors for LRTC’s Technical Large Animal Rescue, responded with the team. Though the Large Animal Rescue complete team was two hours out, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) personnel were a minimum of three hours out. The team worked for well over an hour, with the assistance of the Pyramid Lake Fire Rescue/EMS and their Hurst Tool power spreader, to free this stallion. He was exhausted and suffered some lacerations, but after giving him time to rest on solid ground he was able to get to his feet. He is undoubtedly one very sore, but a very lucky horse! Watch the rescue here.

WATCH THE RESCUE

Wild horses endangered in Nevada and California

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

November is here, but unfortunately the sun has not set on the threat to America’s wild horses and burros across the west. Right now, two devastating federal helicopter roundups are underway. The first is unfolding in Nevada’s Triple B Complex and the other on California’s Devil’s Garden Plateau. Hundreds of horses have already lost their freedom, and more are at risk each day. Your urgent support is needed to stand against these operations and protect the freedom of these iconic animals.

CHIP IN TO END HELICOPTER ROUNDUPS

Triple B Complex Roundup in Nevada
Over the weekend, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) launched a sweeping roundup in Nevada’s Triple B Complex, targeting 2,255 horses. Chased by helicopters over rugged terrain, these horses will endure high-stress conditions, risking injury, exhaustion, and separation from their families. One horse has already died in the first two days of the roundup. 

Devil’s Garden Roundup in California
On October 28, the USDA Forest Service began its own roundup on the 258,000-acre Devil’s Garden Plateau Wild Horse Territory in California. This operation is driven by an outdated and unscientific population limit, which was set more than 10 years and does not reflect the current ecological conditions of the Territory. American Wild Horse Conservation, alongside the Environmental Protection Information Center, has filed a legal objection over this flawed management plan that endangers the future of this cherished herd. As of October 30, helicopters had already rounded up 49 horses and foals in an ongoing campaign to capture 500 animals, stripping Devil’s Garden of its natural diversity and wild spirit.

CHIP IN TO END HELICOPTER ROUNDUPS


Photos of Devil’s Garden Plateau Roundup by Steve Paige

This situation is urgent.

Every horse captured and forced from the range into holding corrals is another life stolen from the wild. We need your help to amplify our voice on Capitol Hill, challenge unscientific policies, and fight for a sustainable future where wild horses can live as nature intended. Please join us in donating now to help end cruel, costly helicopter roundups funded by our taxes.

CHIP IN TO END HELICOPTER ROUNDUPS

Together, we can push back against these destructive practices. With your support, we can continue to fight for humane, science-based conservation policies that protect wild herds and preserve their rightful place on public lands.

Our wild horses are counting on us. Let’s make sure we don’t let them down.

With determination and gratitude,

American Wild Horse Conservation

Our most important fundraising day of the year is just a month away!

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Can you believe we’re only one month away from Giving Tuesday?

In case you didn’t know, Giving Tuesday is our most important fundraising day of the year. It’s a day where people across the world come together and give back to their communities and to the causes they care most about.

Our Giving Tuesday fundraising lays the foundation for our continued wild horse and burro advocacy next year. That’s why we’re counting on our incredible herd of advocates to rally together in support of our work to advance the cause of wild horse and burro conservation. 

Since this day is so critical to our mission, we want to get a head start on our Giving Tuesday fundraising. We’ve set a goal to raise $50,000 by November 21 to ensure we head into Giving Tuesday strong. Can you chip in today to help us kick off our Giving Tuesday fundraising and power our work to protect wild horses and burros?

CHIP IN

There’s so much at stake. The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) wild horse and burro roundup and stockpile system is near its breaking point with over 66,000 animals currently held in federal corrals. Despite this, the agency is planning on rounding up thousands more horses and burros in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025.

Your support will be critical to our efforts to continue being a voice for wild horses and burros next year – whether that’s in the field, in the courts, or on Capitol Hill. Please, can you chip in any amount today to help us get a head start on our Giving Tuesday campaign and fuel the critical work that we’re doing for our wild herds? 

DONATE NOW

Thank you,

Team AWHC

The fiscal cost of freedom lost

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

I first spoke at a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) meeting in 2009. In the 14 years since, I’ve continued to advocate for our wild horses and burros. And I’ve seen it year after year, the BLM spends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on costly and cruel helicopter roundups.

Here at AWHC, we know we can protect our wild horses and burros in the wild where they belong without the use of helicopters. Not only that, but we’re proving that it can be done through our boots-on-the-ground programs. By giving today, you’re advancing our efforts to reform the BLM’s program and to promote science-backed humane conservation solutions.

DONATE NOW

The moral cost goes without saying. But the financial numbers for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 are truly staggering. Here are some figures you should know:

$154.8 Million

That’s how much taxpayers paid in FY2024 for the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. This represents an increase of nearly $7 million from last year. If our government were putting that budget toward in-the-wild conservation and upholding federal protections for wild horses and burros, this may not be cause for concern. However…

$6,000,000+

That is the amount paid out to roundup contractors this fiscal year. This includes contractors caught on camera violating the BLM’s own animal welfare standards.

70% of the budget spent on off-range holding

This year, more than two-thirds of the program’s budget was spent on covering the cost of off-range holding facilities, where currently over 66,000 wild horses and burros languish and are at risk of entering the slaughter pipeline thanks to the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP).

DONATE NOW

These rising costs only increase as the program continues to prioritize holding animals in captivity, rather than supporting humane, effective in-the-wild conservation initiatives.

But that’s not all. Now, the BLM’s 2025 budget request has ballooned to $170.9 million — including an additional request for $15 million to fund a permanent sterilization program.

The reality is that these expenditures come at a high cost to taxpayers and wild horses alike. Imagine what a $170 million budget would accomplish if it were directed toward scientific, sustainable conservation approaches that keep wild herds in the wild, where they belong.

We need your support to advocate for a humane, fiscally responsible approach to wild horse conservation. Together, we can make a difference.

Standing up for horses and American taxpayers,

Amelia Perrin
American Wild Horse Conservation

How we’re taking action for Wyoming’s wild herds in the courtroom

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Our wild herds are safest in the wild, where they can roam freely in their natural habitats with their families. But the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) inhumane policies are slashing wild horse and burro populations to dangerously low levels, depriving these iconic animals of their right to live freely on western public lands.

That’s why we’re working every day to end brutal helicopter roundups and keep wild horses and burros out of overburdened holding facilities. Today, we’d like to share an update on the critical legal work we’re undertaking in Wyoming to protect our wild herds. But first – if you’re able, please chip in to help us power our Legal Fund — and read on to learn about our efforts to defend wild horses  in Wyoming. >>

POWER OUR LEGAL FUND

For over a decade, we’ve been fighting in federal court to prevent the BLM from eliminating 2.1 million acres of federally designated habitat for wild horses in the state and slashing the state’s wild horse population by one third, including entirely eradicating the Salt Wells Creek and Great Divide Basin populations.

At issue is the BLM’s decision to eliminate wild horses from the 2-million acre Wyoming Checkerboard area at the demand of the Rock Springs Grazing Association. This decision sets a terrible precedent, essentially handing over our public lands to private interests and allowing private landowners to dictate the presence of wild horses on public lands.

In July, our 12-year legal battle culminated when our lawyers traveled to Wyoming to argue against this dangerous plan in court. Unfortunately, the lower court issued a decision in August that approved the BLM’s plan.

Given the political landscape in Wyoming, we anticipated that this case would likely be resolved by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. With so much at stake for Wyoming’s wild horses and herds across the West, we moved swiftly to appeal. Just days after the lower court decision, our coalition of wild horse advocates, and animal welfare and conservation groups filed our notice of appeal. And just last week, we submitted our opening brief. 

This opening brief is a crucial step in the appeals process, laying out our arguments as to why the BLM’s actions clearly violate the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and why the lower court’s decision is flawed. Our attorney, Bill Eubanks of Eubanks and Associates, has crafted a powerful case, and since we have previously succeeded on similar issues before this appellate court, we believe we have a strong chance of winning.

But this fight won’t be easy or quick. Because this case is so critical to the future of wild horses in the West, we’re asking for your support through a donation to our Legal Fund. Will you help today? We can’t do this vital work without your support.

POWER OUR LEGAL FUND

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

The federal government’s wild horse and burro holding system is at the brink >>

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Right now, over 66,000 wild horses and burros are held in captivity by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) – and the agency recently announced it plans to round up 11,000 more next year. Rush a donation now and help us fight back to keep these innocent animals in the wild where they belong!

This is the heartbreaking reality for over 66,000 of our nation’s formerly free-roaming wild horses and burros.

Tens of thousands of innocent animals are crammed into corrals, oftentimes with no shade or room to run, vulnerable to deadly disease outbreaks, and in danger of being funneled into the slaughter pipeline via the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) – all on the taxpayers’ dime every year.

We know it doesn’t have to be like this. Through our fertility control program on Nevada’s Virginia Range, we’ve been proving for over five years that there IS a better way to manage our nation’s wild horses and burros — one that keeps them out of these overburdened facilities and in the wild where they’re meant to be.

But, over 16,000 mustangs and burros were captured in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 alone. Now, with our wild horse and burro holding system already at the brink, the agency is planning to round up another 11,000 in FY 2025 – placing the lives of so many of these innocent animals in jeopardy. 

Whether it’s in the field, in the courts, or on Capitol Hill, we’re committed to continuing the fight for the freedom of our wild herds. Will you make a contribution today to support our efforts to keep wild horses and burros in the wild where they belong?

DONATE

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

Humane fertility control is the way forward for our wild herds

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) is fighting to build a better future for our nation’s wild horses and burros – one where they can roam free on the public lands they call home, protected from cruelty and inhumane treatment.

A central piece of this mission is proving that there is a better way to manage wild horse and burro populations than through brutal federal helicopter roundups that break apart families and put these iconic animals in danger of suffering gruesome, oftentimes fatal, injuries.

That better way is through humane Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) fertility control programs, like our model program in Nevada.

POWER OUR PZP PROGRAM! >>

PZP is a scientifically-proven fertility control vaccine given to female horses on the range via remote darting. It’s administered in a two shot process — the first is a primer, which is then followed by a booster after two weeks. The vaccine prevents fertilization and pregnancy via an immune response that does not affect the horse’s hormonal system.

AWHC is proud to run the world’s largest humane fertility control program for wild horses on Nevada’s Virginia Range. In fact, the Virginia Range program has been so successful that it was the basis for a peer-reviewed scientific paper, published in the journal Vaccines, which affirmed the feasibility of fertility control programs in large wild horse populations who live on expansive habitats!

These successes are only possible because of the continued support of people like you. Will you make a donation today to help us continue our PZP program and power further research to protect wild horses and burros?

POWER OUR PZP PROGRAM! >>

The Virginia Range mustangs lack federal protection and their habitat is being encroached on by development in the greater Reno area, so protecting them in the wild is essential for their survival.

With the success of our PZP program, which has led to a 60% reduction in the herd’s foaling rate, we’re proving that PZP works and that it is safer and more cost-effective than deadly helicopter stampedes and capture operations.

Your support will help us continue to provide the cold, hard, scientific evidence that lends legitimacy to our calls for more humane management of our wild horses and burros. Please chip in today to continue powering this lifesaving program!

POWER OUR PZP PROGRAM! >>

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

Help us demand government accountability

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Just this past week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wrapped up another brutal helicopter roundup targeting the wild horses, including many young foals, who call the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area along the California-Nevada border home. More than 900 animals were captured and removed, and four tragically died.

As with nearly every federal roundup, American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) observers were on the ground with the goal of documenting the cruel reality these equines face in real time, but here’s the unbelievable truth: The public observation is often abysmal.

The trap site, where wild horses and burros are driven at the end of a helicopter chase, is the most dangerous part of a roundup. It’s here where severe injury and even death are most likely to occur.

Despite public observation of a government operation being guaranteed under the First Amendment, AWHC observers are frequently positioned up to two miles away from those trap sites — so far they can’t see them at all. Even with the most powerful camera lenses, observers can see and document only a small fraction of the dangerous moments unfolding during a roundup.

Is that what transparency looks like?

These pictures were taken by roundup observer Darlene Smith when she was deployed to the Sulphur roundup in Utah.



Photos by Darlene Smith at the Sulphur roundup in summer 2024.

Our observation teams are doing their best to document what’s happening to these iconic animals, but there’s only one way to guarantee no BLM atrocity goes unrecorded: Cameras on helicopters.

Will you join us in calling on the BLM to mandate cameras on all helicopters used for government roundups?

BLM roundups already take place in some of the most remote regions of the West — outside the public eye. Limitations on observation only further shroud the BLM’s irresponsible, unscientific management practices from the American people.

BLM roundups targeted more than 16,000 wild horses and burros last fiscal year— and more than 200 have died. These numbers include thousands of foals born mere months or weeks before being senselessly chased down and locked up, often separate from their mothers. AWHC is fighting every day to end costly, inhumane helicopter roundups. But until we can stop them for good, we need to ensure that we hold the BLM accountable for the cruelty wild horses and burros face during these tax-funded operations.

We are calling on the BLM to require camera installations on all helicopters used for federally sanctioned roundup operations. Will you join us and help ensure the BLM is held accountable for violations committed during dangerous helicopter roundups?

Thank you for your continued support of American wild horses and burros.

Onward,

American Wild Horse Conservation

The devastation doesn’t end once the helicopters are grounded

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Across the West, our nation’s iconic wild horses and burros are rounded up at an alarming rate. These helicopter chases cause deep trauma – and the impacts on survivors left behind on the range can be devastating.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) claims that roundups are necessary to maintain healthy wild horse and burro populations, but the facts don’t support this. Beyond the immediate suffering that mustangs and burros face during helicopter roundups, these operations actually threaten the long-term viability of America’s wild horse and burro herds.


Photo by Tandin Chapman

Family bands – critical social structures for wild horses – are torn apart by roundups as new generations are stripped from the wild, separating them from their families and weakening essential bonds for survival. Older, experienced horses are often removed, and with them, the wisdom needed to thrive in the wild is lost. Additionally, the BLM often sets the Appropriate Management Level (AML) of wild horse and burro herds below the standards recommended by equine geneticists to maintain herd genetic viability in the long term.

The fact of the matter is that roundups are not an effective way to maintain healthy populations of wild horses and burros. Here at American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC), we’re fighting for more humane and effective alternatives to roundups, such as PZP fertility control, which keeps horses and burros safe and in the wild where they belong.

Our wild horses and burros deserve better, Meredith. Will you help us continue fighting for a better way forward for America’s wild herds, such as through humane fertility control, by chipping in today?

DONATE

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

Celebrate world animal day by supporting America’s wild horses and burros

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Happy World Animal Day!

World Animal Day is an annual international day of action to promote animal rights and welfare. While people around the world are standing up for animals of all kinds, we’re calling special attention to the plight of America’s wild horses and burros, who need our help now more than ever.

Wild horses and burros hold an iconic place in American history, but tragically, their future is uncertain. Year after year, federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have removed tens of thousands of mustangs and burros from Western public lands by way of cruel and dangerous helicopter roundups.

Stripped of their freedom, they are then crammed into overcrowded government holding facilities where they often spend years confined away from all they hold dear; their family and their freedom. Worse, many are at risk of ending up in the slaughter pipeline through the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which has funneled thousands of horses and burros into kill pens.

These roundups not only result in severe injuries and even deaths, but they also destroy family bands and disrupt the delicate ecosystems of the Western rangelands that wild horses and burros call home. It’s a crisis that we simply cannot ignore, Meredith.

That’s why, on this important day for animal welfare advocacy, we’re asking for your help to protect these beloved beings. American Wild Horse Conservation is fighting in the field, in the courtroom, and on Capitol Hill to end these inhumane roundups and ensure wild horses and burros can remain free on our public lands where they belong. But we can’t do it without you.

Our work is fueled by generous supporters like you who believe in the cause of wild horse and burro conservation. In honor of World Animal Day, can you chip in to support our work? It’s up to all of us to bring about the change necessary to secure a brighter future for wild horses and burros.

DONATE

Thank you!

Team AWHC

Will you help us keep up the momentum?

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Yesterday, we told you about some of the great work we’ve been doing to educate Americans about the dangers facing wild horses and burros. Thanks to our Awareness Fund, we’re bringing the issue of wild horse conservation to the forefront – and we’re translating this awareness into direct action for our wild herds.

POWER OUR AWARENESS FUND

Just in the past year alone:

  • We mobilized our supporters to call for an end to the Adoption Incentive Program (AIP)’s disastrous cash incentives, which are funneling wild horses and burros to slaughter, leading to over 10,000 letter submissions;
  • We spearheaded a campaign resulting in over 50,000 total letter submissions calling on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to install cameras on helicopters used for roundups;
  • We called on our advocates to help end the donkey skin trade in the US by asking their representatives to cosponsor the Ejiao Act, resulting in over 31,000 total letters in support of this important bill;
  • We led a Day of Action in honor of National Horse Protection Day that mobilized our grassroots community in support of Rep. Dina Titus’ Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023, which would BAN cruel and costly helicopter roundups. This day led to over 20,000 letter submissions.

This is how we make change.

Every action you take – whether it’s sending a letter, signing a petition, or sharing the story of our wild horses and burros with others – helps push us closer to the day when these magnificent animals are free from the threats of roundups, slaughter, and government mistreatment. And the more people we bring into our herd of advocates, the louder our voice will be.

That’s why it’s critical that we power our Awareness Fund to ensure that even more people learn about the plight of wild horses and burros and join us in the fight to protect them. We’ve seen the impact that awareness can have – and with over 11,000 wild horses and burros at risk of roundups next year, we need to keep pushing.

By supporting our Awareness Fund, you’re helping us reach millions of people with powerful campaigns, news stories, and actions that directly influence policy and public opinion. Every dollar fuels outreach efforts that create real change, and we simply cannot afford to slow down.

Will you contribute today to help us expand our reach and keep building the movement to protect our wild herds?

POWER OUR AWARENESS FUND

Together, we’re showing the world that America’s wild horses and burros deserve to remain free, wild, and protected on our public lands. Thank you for standing with us and for all you do to support this cause.

– Team AWHC

UPDATE: The BLM just released its 2025 roundup schedule (!!)

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released its proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 roundup and removal schedule.

This proposed plan calls for the roundup of over 11,000 wild horses and burros, permanently removing over 10,000 from their homes and placing them in overburdened federal holding facilities. 

Currently, there are already over 62,000 wild horses and burros held in federal holding, while the BLM estimates that there are approximately 73,520 horses and burros left on public lands in the West. That means the BLM’s FY25 proposed roundup schedule could potentially result in more wild horses and burros being kept in federal holding facilities than there are in the wild.

HELP US FIGHT BACK

To make matters worse, the agency is planning to continue the use of helicopters for the majority of these roundups – operations that often cause severe injuries, and can even result in the deaths of these iconic animals. That’s why American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) is planning to send observers into the field to document every roundup possible to hold the BLM accountable for its actions and to educate the public on what’s happening to our wild horses and burros.

Our observation efforts are critical to shining a light on the true reality that wild horses and burros face at the hands of the BLM. The evidence they collect helps us establish an irrefutable pattern of cruelty to prove to members of Congress, the media, and the public that change is desperately needed.

The photos and video footage our observers have captured at BLM roundups have helped secure international and national media attention on this issue and are leading to direct action on Capitol Hill to reform this broken system, including allocating funds to humane in-the-wild conservation in the FY24 spending bill. But with more horses and burros in danger of roundups next year, it’s critical that we continue this program so we can ensure we keep up the pressure. Can you help power our Observation Fund so we can keep fighting for wild horses and burros in FY25?

POWER OUR OBSERVATION FUND

Look, we know this news may be hard to hear, but we can’t let this discourage us. This issue is a marathon, not a sprint. It took two decades for Wild Horse Annie to ensure the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. The work we do every day is paving the way for the change these majestic animals desperately need.

Our wild herds are counting on us to continue the fight, which is why we mustn’t stop advocating for them. Together, we can and will achieve a future where wild horses and burros are safe from government mismanagement once and for all.

Onward,

American Wild Horse Conservation

There is a better way

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Last month, Representative Dina Titus, a strong champion of wild horse and burro conservation in Congress, wrote a powerful op-ed in the Las Vegas Sun:

In this piece, she highlighted the disturbing cruelty of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) roundups and urged immediate action to end the use of helicopters in these operations.

Rep. Titus felt moved to speak out after a recent incident captured on video by one of our humane observers sparked public outrage. During a roundup in Nevada’s Blue Wing Complex, a contractor, hired by BLM, repeatedly kicked and punched a collapsed wild horse after an exhausting helicopter chase.

Sadly, this is not an isolated case. This summer, over 90 wild horses and burros tragically died during these brutal roundups. But the suffering doesn’t end when the helicopters are grounded — those who survive face a lifetime in crowded holding pens where disease and abuse are rampant.

This is why Rep. Titus introduced the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023 — a critical piece of legislation that would ban the use of helicopters in federal wild horse roundups. Along with banning the use of helicopters, the BLM must shift resources toward humane, proven alternatives like fertility control. With dedicated volunteers, fertility control programs like the one we run in Rep.Titus’ home state, Nevada, are already demonstrating how effective and cost-efficient these conservation solutions can be.

But we need your help to ensure this vital legislation passes. Elected officials need to hear from their constituents. The more voices that speak up, the harder it is for them to ignore the urgent need for change.

Will you take just a few minutes to make your voice heard? Click here to send a letter to your representative, urging them to support Rep. Titus’s Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act and demand an end to the cruelty of helicopter roundups.

TAKE ACTION

Thank you for standing with us and with America’s wild horses and burros!

With gratitude,

Team AWHC

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