The Bureau of Land Management just released its report to Congress on future management of wild horses and burros on public lands. The BLM’s answer: mass removals, slaughter and sterilization.
The report reveals that the agency will push to change the law to secure “flexibility” to transfer and sell animals without limitation, meaning tens of thousands would be slaughtered.
The plan calls for Congress to “remove prohibitions” currently placed into appropriations bills that forbid the agency from mass killing and slaughter of our mustangs.
The BLM is going against the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences and more than 100 horse advocacy organizations, and the will of the American people. The agency wants to reduce wild populations to 1971 levels — when Congress protected these animals because they were “fast disappearing.”
Worse, the BLM wants to sterilize 80 percent of the wild herds… a move that is both dangerous and would take the wild out of wild horses by destroying their natural behaviors.
The Bureau of Land Management just released its report to Congress on future management of wild horses and burros on public lands. The BLM’s answer: mass removals, slaughter and sterilization.
The report reveals that the agency will push to change the law to secure “flexibility” to transfer and sell animals without limitation, meaning tens of thousands would be slaughtered.
The plan calls for Congress to “remove prohibitions” currently placed into appropriations bills that forbid the agency from mass killing and slaughter of our mustangs.
The BLM is going against the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences and more than 100 horse advocacy organizations, and the will of the American people. The agency wants to reduce wild populations to 1971 levels —when Congress protected these animals because they were “fast disappearing.”
Worse, the BLM wants to sterilize 80 percent of the wild herds… a move that is both dangerous and would take the wild out of wild horses by destroying their natural behaviors.
It’s an exciting time for the American Wild Horse Campaign.
This spring, we helped win battles to keep wild horses protected in the federal budget for Fiscal Year 2018, launched a lawsuit against the BLM to stop destructive wild horse management policies on public lands, and even saw the Secretary of the Interior publicly backtrack from his all-out push to slaughter these American icons.
But this fight is far from over… We face another battle for the lives of our mustangs this year as Congress debates spending legislation for Fiscal Year 2019.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be keeping you updated on the work we’re doing to protect wild horses and burros, and the battles we’re fighting in court, on the range, and in Congress to defend their rights to live WILD and FREE on our public lands.
Now is a crucial time for your support. We’re building the grassroots support and laying the foundation for lasting protections…. Our campaign has come so far, and we can’t afford to lose any ground.
We have just eight days until Congress must make a decision on spending legislation for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2018. Behind the scenes negotiations are going on RIGHT NOW as Congress decides between the Senate Interior spending bill, which prohibits killing and slaughter of wild horses and burros, and the House version, which would allow the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to destroy up to 90,000 mustangs and burros. It’s time to reach out to House and Senate leadership to save the lives of our American mustangs and burros – will you make the calls today?
We were honored this week to be joined at a press conference in Reno, Nevada by officials from the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRI), the largest industrial park in the world, in support of our fight to save the Virginia Range horses in northern Nevada. TRI Director and Storey County Commissioner Lance Gilman gave an inspiring talk about the incredible economic development happening at the TRI and how the powerhouse companies there — including Tesla, Switch, and Blockchains — are strongly behind protecting the horses. Tomorrow, we’ll file our lawsuit to stop the state from giving away the horses to a private owner who would then have the “property rights” to do what it wants with the horses, including selling them for slaughter.
AWHC and The Cloud Foundation are taking a stand against the BLM’s violation of public notice requirements in the scheduling of the next meeting of the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, currently set for Salt Lake City on March 27, 2018. Yesterday, William Miller of Scottsdale, AZ, attorney for AWHC and TCF, sent a formal letter demanding that the meeting be rescheduled to allow for the required 30-day public notification. Mr. Miller says: “The BLM must give proper notice so that the public can have a voice on this issue that so many citizens care about. This Board has been consistently out of step with the wishes of Americans, 80 percent of whom oppose the killing and slaughter of our wild horses. We will not stand by while this agency trounces federal law in order to restrict the voice of the people and ram through yet another morally bankrupt and unscientific recommendation to kill our American mustangs.”
Thanks to supporters like you, we’ve been able to raise funds over the last two weeks to:
Prepare the best cases possible for our lawsuits against the BLM to defend wild horses in Nevada and Wyoming;
Raise awareness and organize action calls to Congress to protect wild horses and burros in 2018 Congressional spending legislation; and
Document the abuses that are happening on the ground so that Americans across the country can see this despicable treatment of our iconic mustangs.
The funds raised in our Spring Campaign are vital to making our work at AWHC possible. This is your chance to ensure the protection of our wild horses and burros for years to come.
Working in statehouses and in the halls of the Congress to demand humane, evidence-based wild horse management. CLICK HERE.
Observing and documenting the BLM’s cruel roundups so that citizens across the country can hold our government accountable. CLICK HERE
Taking the BLM and state governments to court to stop the roundup and slaughter of wild horses and burros. CLICK HERE
Some other priority we should be focused on? Let us know.
Your feedback is vital to letting us know how we’re doing — and where we can improve. Without advocates and supporters like you, wild horses and burros wouldn’t have a voice. Thank you for standing with us — and with them.
The BLM wants to sell off our country’s heritage to the highest bidder — and Congress might let them do it. We need your help to stop the roundup, sale, and slaughter of our wild horses.
The national budget is being debated now — and it includes provisions that allow for the destruction of wild horses. We have a limited amount of time to protect wild horses. Can you chip in to our Spring Protection Campaign today?
At AWHC, we’re doing everything we can to protect the futures of these beautiful animals — in the field, in the courtroom, and in the halls of Congress.
Earlier this year we sued the BLM to challenge the its ten-year plan to cruelly round up and remove nearly 10,000 federally-protected wild horses in Nevada and sterilize wild stallions who remain on the range. We’ve been documenting roundups, working with local businesses, ranchers and other stakeholders, promoting long-term and humane solutions to the challenges facing horses and burros. But there are some threats — like this budget — that we need to tackle today.
We’ve got a number of fights on our hands, but the most pressing of all is the budget being debated in Congress right now. A proposed amendment would allow the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to destroy healthy wild horses and burros, putting the lives of up to 90,000 animals at risk.
That’s not a move toward sustainable management — that’s a massacre.
We’ve launched the Spring Protection Campaign to fuel all our work to protect wild horses — can you help?
We’re in the halls of Congress, fighting back against these disastrous, inhumane proposals. And, we’ve teamed up with over 80 other organizations to urge Congress to maintain protections for wild horses and burros against mass killing and slaughter. But we need to do even more to protect these iconic animals.
As Americans, the fate of 90,000 horses is in our hands. Help us prevent the passage of the BLM’s cruel and lethal budget plan before it’s too late.
Picture dozens of terrified horses, lathered in sweat despite frigid temperatures, eyes wide with fear, running away from government helicopters. Exhausted and resigned, they are driven into traps, then trucked to packed holding pens where they languish for weeks, months, and even years.
That’s what our AWHC team witnessed in Nevada, Utah, and Oregon already this year, as we documented BLM roundups. I’m just back from the Triple B roundup in Nevada where I filmed hundreds of horses, including heavily pregnant mares and several tiny foals, stampeded by helicopters. The trauma of the roundups will cause many of the captured mares tol abort their foals.
These barbaric roundups will keep happening unless we fight back. That’s why AWHC has launched the Spring Protection Campaign to make sure that all of its vital work continues — from documenting BLM roundups, to advocating for a slaughter-free budget in Washington, to defending wild horses and burros in court.
The lives of every one of these horses are in danger as Congress decides whether or not to give the BLM permission to kill or slaughter as many as 90,000 of them.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Long-term, humane management via birth control is more than just possible; it’s the best option. But the BLM is committed to perpetuating its cruel, inhumane management practices. That’s why documenting the roundups is so important — to let all Americans know about the abuse that our government is perpetrating against our iconic wild horses and burros.
This is a tough fight, but AWHC is in it for the long haul. This week has been hard — but I’m more determined than ever to save these beautiful, wild creatures.
National Forest Service Identifies “Priority Areas” for Trail Repair, Lawmakers to Expand Scope of RNR Act
On February 16, the Department of Agriculture’s National Forest Service (NFS) unveiled a list of 15 trail areas that the agency is targeting for priority maintenance projects. As you recall, the National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act (PL 114-245, aka, “Trails Act”), signed into law in late 2016, directs the NFS to take steps to reduce the backlog of federal maintenance projects by identifying those that are in most need of repair. The Trails Act outlines a detailed program including goals and timetables by which the Department of Agriculture (USDA) will leverage private partners to clear trails long overdue for maintenance. USDA Secretary Perdue underscored the importance of public/private partnerships supported by the horse industry by stating that the “partners and volunteers” will “address needed infrastructure work,” amounting to about $300 million in backlog maintenance.
Jim McGarvey, who leads the American Horse Council’s Recreation, Trails and Land-Use Committee, applauds the agency’s follow-through on the Trails Act directives. He states that “AHC was a proud supporter of the Trails Act, and we thank the Forest Service for its continued work in saving these trails for America’s horse riders.” By beginning work on “priority areas,” the agency is focusing on trails that were “impassable” and otherwise posed safety hazards to horsemen and other outdoor enthusiasts. On February 13, NFS personnel informed AHC members and staff that the agency will continue to explore ways to leverage public/private partnerships to maintain public trails. To view a copy of the NFS announcement, please click here: https://www.fs.fed.us/news/releases/usda-secretary-announces-infrastructure-improvements-forest-system-trails.
On the congressional front, lawmakers continue to review provisions that would expand the scope of the Recreation-Not-Red-Tape (RNR) Act (H.R. 3400), one of Congress’ most ambitious public lands initiatives. The legislation would build on the success of the Trails Act by authorizing the Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to enter into cooperative agreements with private parties to continue to expand the role of volunteers in trail maintenance. The House Natural Resources Committee is planning to move forward with a mark-up of H.R. 3400, possibly as early as March, to incorporate provisions of the Guide Outfitters (GO) Act into H.R. 3400. The expanded bill would establish a variety of regulatory efficiencies, including creation of joint permits for activities that take place on lands administered by the National Park Service, NFS and BLM. The House Natural Resources Committee postponed a mark-up planned for Wednesday, February 14, to continue to explore ways to expand the scope of the RNR Act.
Big news. We just filed in the U.S. District Court in Nevada challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) cruel ten-year plan to round up and remove over 9,000 federally-protected wild horses in southeastern Nevada. That’s right: We’re suing the BLM — again!
If we win, it will set another important precedent for wild horses — but we need more resources to make that happen. Can you make an emergency donation for our efforts today?
The plan the BLM has rolled out for the wild horses in the Antelope and Triple B Complexes in eastern Nevada is terrible. It’s the same broken approach that the National Academy of Sciences called “expensive and unproductive for the BLM and the public it serves.” The agency wants to reduce the breeding population of wild horses in these areas by 90 percent to the low appropriate management level of 899 horses on 2.8 million acres – or one horse per 3,115 acres!
The helicopter roundups will chase thousands of frightened, helpless horses into cramped, confined pens. At past roundups, we’ve witnessed traumatized horses struggling desperately to escape — even breaking limbs trying to get free.
Phase 1 of the roundup is underway right now with 900 horses targeted for removal. We can’t stop that, but we can impact the roundups that will take 8,000 more horses from their homes on the range… and stop the BLM from implementing harmful practices — including castrating wild stallions on the range — that will take the wild out of these wild horses by destroying their natural behaviors.
We can’t let the BLM implement this massive, wide-ranging roundup and sterilization plan. We’re going to force the BLM back to the drawing board to come up with a better plan for the beautiful wild horses of this area. But we need your help to get the job done in federal court.
Please take action to oppose the BLM’s “zeroing-out” (eliminating) all wild horses from the Seaman and White River Herd Management Areas in Nevada. Over the past 46 years, the BLM has slowly but steadily eliminated approximately 25,000 square miles of wild horse and burro habitat… That’s more land than the entire states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New Jersey combined! By taking action today, you are telling our federal government that you oppose removing all wild horses from nearly 600 square miles of our public lands in Nevada. Take action and share with your friends and family to stand up against this assault on our wild horses.
As the BLM awaits a decision by Congress on whether or not to grant its request to kill tens of thousands of wild horses and burros in holding facilities and on the range, the agency is moving ahead with roundups in three Western states. This includes the massive removal of 1,000 horses from Nevada’s Antelope and Triple B Complexes. Read more about the upcoming roundups by clicking below.
We recently sat down with Dr. Beth Shapiro, a world-renowned evolutionary biologist who heads the Paleogenomics Laboratory at University of California Santa Cruz to discuss The Original Horse Project and to ask the controversial question: Is the horse a native species to North America? Watch her answer the piece below!
Yesterday went better than we ever could have hoped.
Across the country, supporters like you stepped up on Giving Tuesday in a huge way. We blew through our initial $25,000 goal, and got almost 1,000 individual donations. And because of our matching gift, all of those gifts will go twice as far.
We can’t thank you enough for your support — and it couldn’t come at a more crucial time. Your donations will fuel these critical programs to save wild horses and burros:
Litigation: Right now, our legal team is defending wild horses in two federal appellate court cases. We’re fighting to uphold our lower court victories against a rancher lawsuit seeking roundup and slaughter of Utah wild horses and the BLM’s attempts to destroy the Saylor Creek wild horse population in Idaho bysurgically sterilizing every stallion and mare living there.
On the ground: As you read this, the AWHC team is in the field to document a BLM helicopter roundup underway today in Utah. We’re showing the world what’s happening to our wild horses and burros in these remote regions of the West, and we’re generating the public support necessary to stop our government’s cruel treatment of these national icons.
Advocacy: Our wild horses deserve the best possible representation in the halls of Washington, and that’s just what our bipartisan legislation team is doing — making sure that policies affecting wild horses are evidence-based, humane, and strictly enforced.
We can’t do this work without you. Thank you again for your support this Giving Tuesday and every day.
— Thanks to a huge outpouring of support, we’ve hit our $25,000 Giving Tuesdaygoal. Now, a major donor has agreed to provide an EMERGENCY match of $10,000 more — if we can reach that goal before midnight.
Today is Giving Tuesday, and right now our team is on the ground in Utah to document an abusive government roundup. Starting tomorrow, helicopters will hunt down and trap wild horses, robbing them of the two things they value most: family and freedom. Worse, the lives of every one of these proud mustangs is in danger, thanks to a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plan to kill and sell for slaughter tens of thousands of wild horses and burros in holding facilities and on the range.
At AWHC, we’re working nonstop to keep wild horses and burros free and safe and to defeat attempts by the BLM to slaughter them.
Last week, we achieved a major victory in that battle when the Senate rejected BLM’s lethal plans. But earlier this year, the House passed a spending bill that would allow BLM to kill tens of thousands of healthy wild horses and burros. That means the fight goes on as Congress negotiates to reconcile the two versions of the bill.
In honor of Trey, the tiny pinto foal who was roped, hogtied, captured and separated from his mother at last year’s BLM roundup in the Cedar Mountains … and in honor of all the foals being captured right now in Utah, never again to feel the security of family or the freedom of the open range… please make your Giving Tuesday gift today.
Together, we can build a better future for our magnificent wild horses and burros. Thank you.
Today is Giving Tuesday, and right now our team is on the ground in Utah to document an abusive government roundup. Starting tomorrow, helicopters will hunt down and trap wild horses, robbing them of the two things they value most: family and freedom. Worse, the lives of every one of these proud mustangs is in danger, thanks to a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plan to kill and sell for slaughter tens of thousands of wild horses and burros in holding facilities and on the range.
At AWHC, we’re working nonstop to keep wild horses and burros free and safe and to defeat attempts by the BLM to slaughter them.
Last week, we achieved a major victory in that battle when the Senate rejected BLM’s lethal plans. But earlier this year, the House passed a spending bill that would allow BLM to kill tens of thousands of healthy wild horses and burros. That means the fight goes on as Congress negotiates to reconcile the two versions of the bill.
In honor of Trey, the tiny pinto foal who was roped, hogtied, captured and separated from his mother at last year’s BLM roundup in the Cedar Mountains … and in honor of all the foals being captured right now in Utah, never again to feel the security of family or the freedom of the open range… please make your Giving Tuesday gift today.
Together, we can build a better future for our magnificent wild horses and burros. Thank you.
Separated from his mother. Hog-tied. Penned. This just a glimpse of what happened to to Trey, a 2-month-old foal, during a horrific Bureau of Land Management roundup of wild horses in Utah. Fortunately, Trey made it out — but not all horses are so lucky.
These kinds of roundups occur routinely on our public lands. Wild horses are being harassed, abused, and even killed. But we’re making a difference: by documenting BLM activity, by saving individual horses, by advocating for humane policies like fertility control, and by fighting to stop the BLM’s plan to slaughter these innocent and iconic animals.
We must keep our vital work going strong. In honor of Giving Tuesday, a generous donor has agreed to MATCH every gift we receive between now and midnight on Tuesday. Are you able to take advantage of this opportunity?
AWHC staff were on site when Trey and his mother were captured in a major BLM roundup of 534 wild horses in Utah. The day of the roundup was cold, but many horses were soaked in sweat — a result of stress and exhaustion from a several miles-long helicopter stampede. Once trapped, they began to panic, piling on top of each other while attempting to escape the pen.
Trey and his mother were relentlessly pursued by a helicopter, terrorizing and confusing them. Eventually, the mare was captured, and Trey was left all alone. He was then roped by wranglers on horseback, hogtied and flipped on his side. Despite being far too young to be separated from his mother — two months old at most — Trey was put in a pen with other terrified foals just ripped away from their mothers’ sides.
AWHC tracked Trey to the BLM holding facility and a member of our team adopted him and another orphaned filly from the roundup. They’re now living full lives in their new home. But far too many horses just like Trey — once proud and free — now sit languishing in holding pens, at risk every day of being killed or sold for slaughter. Please help us do more for wild horses like Trey.
AWHC staffers work every day to document events like the Utah roundup and create policy that keeps wild horses and burros alive, free and thriving on our public lands. Thank you for standing with us in this fight.
In Freedom,
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 a 501(c)3 non-profit. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our work.
Monday’s news that the Senate Appropriations Committee has maintained protections for wild horses against killing and slaughter was a major positive development in the fight to protect wild horses and burros from Interior Secretary Zinke’s plan to destroy tens of thousands of these iconic animals in holding and on the range. But the fight’s not over yet. Here’s what’s next and what you can do.
BLM Continues to Round Up Wild Horses as their Fate Hangs in Balance
As the BLM waits to hear whether Congress will grant its request to kill tens of thousands of wild horses and burros in holding facilities, the agency is moving ahead with a handful of roundups. In a new twist, captured horses are being taken directly to private holding facilities, where the public is unable to see them to identify captured horses or ascertain their condition. Read more about the roundup pending in Utah next week and the one just completed in Nevada by clicking below.
As the holidays approach, you can show your love to friends and family and protect wild horses by purchasing gifts that will benefit our work. Click here to find great holiday giving ideas, including our spectacular 2018 calendar, magnificent art by renowned photographer Kimerlee Curyl, and or very special (and delicious!) Wild Grounds Coffee by Thanksgiving Coffee Company. A great way to launch the holiday season!
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 a 501(c)3 non-profit. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our work.
Our team just got word after months of campaigning: the Senate has maintained protections for wild horses and burros in its version of the Interior Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2018.
Even better, the Senate directed the BLM to come up with “humane and politically viable” solutions to wild horse management. Clearly, our Senators realize that killing our cherished mustangs or selling them for slaughter is neither humane nor politically tenable.
This is a huge win! Your phone calls, emails, donations, protests, and petitions paid off. You were heard. Our strength was shown. Thank you.
But the fight isn’t over. Here’s what’s next: the Senate (which included protections) must now negotiate with the House (which didn’t). This “conference” will determine the fate of wild horses and burros in our country.
We’re actively tracking who will be in this conference and how we can impact the negotiations. We’ll be in touch as we know more.
You know the stakes: if protections are removed and slaughter or “euthanizing” begin, tens of thousands of wild horses will die. It would be an unprecedented mass slaughter. It would be tragic and defy the recommendations of scientists.
You have done an incredible job of making that case. We’ve won a major victory, but the battle is still on. Please keep it up.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is taking aim at one of the most unique and popular wild horse populations in the nation. Visitors travel from all over the world to see and photograph the wild horses of the Onaqui Mountains in Utah, due to their accessibility (close to Salt Lake City), unique herd dynamics, and the sheer beauty of these colorful and historic mustangs. But now the BLM is proposing to roundup and remove nearly 75% of this herd — more than 325 horses — instead of fully implementing a humane birth control program to stabilize population growth rates. If Congress approves the BLM’s lethal budget request, every horse removed from the Onaqui range will be in danger of being killed or sold for slaughter. There’s not a moment to waste – please weigh in today for humane alternatives to this destructive roundup plan!
The Senate Appropriations hearings on the Fiscal Year 2018 Interior Appropriations bill have been delayed again, and are now tentatively scheduled for the week of October 30th. This gives us more time to keep the pressure on the Senate and fight back against the special interest lobbies that are pushing hard to destroy our iconic wild horses and burros. Click below for an update on our efforts and what you can do to make your voices heard in these last weeks before Congress must vote on legislation to keep the government running in 2018.
The BLM National Wild Horse Advisory Board met last week for the first time since making its outrageous recommendation last year to kill and sell for slaughter tens of thousands of wild horses and burros in holding facilities. At last week’s meeting, the stacked Advisory Board doubled down on its lethal recommendation, and added much more to the list. Click the link below to read our full report.
While we press the U.S. Senate to reject BLM’s request for slaughter and sue the BLM for illegal roundups, we have a third fight on our hands:
Next week, the National BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meets for the first time since its outrageous vote last November to recommend that the BLM kill tens of thousands of innocent wild horses and burros.
Our team will be there. But we need you to submit public comments to this committee now — so they know the American people reject their sham recommendation.
Please keep your comments respectful, but make it clear where you stand. Consider these points:
80% of Americans oppose killing our wild horses and burros and support protecting them on our public lands.
The vote to slaughter mustangs is unconscionable and completely unjustified in light of the cost-effective, scientifically recommended PZP birth control vaccine, which can be used to humanely manage wild horse populations on the range.
This board is supposed to represent stakeholders that include the public, science, wild horse advocacy, environmental and wildlife concerns. It’s time for them to stop doing the bidding of the special interest livestock lobby, which is making tens of millions of dollars off the BLM’s mustang roundup program.
We need to be heard because the Advisory Board members certainly aren’t speaking out on our behalf. The board ignored the overwhelming will of the American people AND the recommendations of the nation’s premier scientific body — the National Academy of Sciences — by voting to slaughter our American wild horses and burros. Only one member of this Advisory Board – our friend and colleague Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation – voted no.
It’s time to let this board know that Americans will not stand for their disregard of the public will and the welfare of our iconic wild horses and burros.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
