Menu

BLM

Defending Wild Horses in the Courtroom on July 16

, , , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

As the nation’s leading wild horse and burro conservation organization, some of the most important work we do for our wild herds is in the courtroom — and, as a matter of fact, we’re currently engaged in two significant court cases near where you live!

POWER OUR LEGAL FUND

In the southwest region of Wyoming known as the “Wyoming Checkerboard,” our decade-long struggle continues against the demands of the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA) to remove wild horses from over 1 million acres of public land.

Twelve years of our legal intervention will come to a head on Tuesday, July 16 when we present oral arguments on BOTH cases in the U.S. District Court of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Here are the details: 

When: 
Tuesday, July 16 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Where: 
U.S. District Court
2120 Capitol Ave, Cheyenne, WY 82001
Courtroom No. 3 / Room No. 2104

What: 
If you come to the arguments, please be quiet, courteous, and respectful at all times. ANY noise or disrespectful behavior will result in removal from the courtroom and could have negative consequences for our case.

10:00 a.m. Argument | Striking Back Against Unprecedented Eradication Measures
In 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) adopted amendments to a Resource Management Plan (RMP) that would authorize the federal government to eliminate more than 1 million acres of habitat across federal public lands in Wyoming and fully or partially eradicate multiple wild herds. Under these amendments, the wild horses of Salt Wells Creek and Great Divide Basin would face total elimination. These unconscionable amendments are detrimental to the Checkerboard’s natural ecosystem. Moreover, they represent the first time in the 53-year history of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act that the BLM has eliminated entire wild horse herds where sufficient habitat characteristics (i.e., forage, water, space, and cover) exist on public lands.

So far we’ve held off the largest wild horse eradication in the history of the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act — but we need your help to continue this fight. Will you consider a contribution to our Legal Fund to power our important courtroom advocacy?


Photo: Wild Horses of Salt Creek Wells by Kimerlee Curyl Photography

POWER OUR LEGAL FUND

2:00 p.m. Argument | Protecting Public Lands from Private Interests
Last March, the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA) filed a suit compelling the BLM to remove wild horses not only from private lands used by RSGA members to graze livestock but also from federal public lands (also used by RSGA members’ livestock) throughout the Wyoming Checkerboard. AWHC immediately intervened against this preposterous lawsuit. Clearly, we’re up against very powerful interests who view wild horses as competitors to their private livestock on our public lands. A huge legal principle is at stake: Will private interests be allowed to dictate the use of public lands and decide whether our federally protected wild horses and burros can live on them?

POWER OUR LEGAL FUND

We’re at a pivotal moment, and your support has never been more important.

Please make a contribution to our Legal Fund, and help power our fight to protect America’s wild horses and burros in the courtroom. Together, we can secure a future where our wild herds can roam safely and freely on the public lands they call home.

Thank you,

The American Wild Horse Conservation

We’re almost out of time

, , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

We are just hours away from the beginning of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) summer roundup season.

Thousands of wild horses and burros across the West are scheduled to be removed from their homes through cruel helicopter roundups, endangering the lives of these innocent animals and costing thousands of tax-payer dollars.

Our team at American Wild Horse Conservation is fighting tirelessly to protect these iconic animals. And we’ve made significant strides thanks to supporters like you. From sending observers to document these inhumane roundups to launching groundbreaking investigations, filing strategic lawsuits, alerting the media, Congress and the public to the cruelty these animals face, we strive to ensure our mustangs and burros receive the protection and care they deserve.

But, we urgently need your support to continue this crucial fight. We are racing against the clock to reach our $25,000 goal, which we set to power our efforts through the summer roundup season. Can you rush a donation before midnight tonight to fuel our efforts and help us reach our goal?

DONATE

The impact of your contribution is profound. Your support translates directly into more boots on the ground, more media coverage, and more strong advocacy on Capitol Hill. We’ve achieved so much together, but there is still so much to do.

As I write this, we’re still $7,482 short of our $25,000 goal. Reaching this critical goal will ensure we have every resource necessary to fight back.

So please, in these final hours before summer roundups begin, will you donate whatever you can to help us reach our goal and allow us to keep fighting for the freedom of America’s wild horses and burros?

Thank you so much — we could not do this work without you.

For the wild ones,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Conservation

Thousands from their herd were rounded up in 2022. Now the BLM is coming for them again.

, , , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

This is Jolene and Porter.

Photo by Steve Paige

Jolene and Porter are from the Porter Springs Herd Management Area (HMA) — which Porter is named after — located in Nevada’s 2.2 million acre Blue Wing Complex. For years, thousands of wild burros and wild horses roamed these lands freely. But the photo above was taken just before a massive Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roundup in 2022 that changed the lives of many of these animals forever.

Over 800 burros and 1,022 horses were chased down by helicopters and captured in the 2022 Blue Wing Complex roundup. Even worse, the BLM publicly reported that 12 deaths occurred during the operation — including many older burros who had lived their entire lives wild and free, only to be rounded up and needlessly euthanized due to conditions like “pre-existing fractures.”

Now, the BLM is gearing up for another roundup in the Blue Wing Complex starting July 8. The agency is planning to round up nearly 1,400 mustangs and over 300 wild burros, and there’s no telling whether burros like Jolene and Porter will remain free this time.

AWHC is the last line of defense for these innocent animals. We’re the boots on the ground fighting in the field, in the courts, and on Capitol Hill to end helicopter roundups and conserve the public lands that wild burros and wild horses roam. But we can’t do it without your help. Can you please chip in to help us reach our $25,000 goal and power our work to end the cruel and costly mismanagement of our wild herds? Your support means so much to us, and to burros like Jolene and Porter.

HELP US REACH OUR GOAL

Sadly, as you may have read in our previous email, the trauma of the Blue Wing Complex herd did not end when the helicopters landed.

Our FOIA requests uncovered a total of 37 burros died in federal holding at the hands of BLM — a tragedy that never would have come to light without the vital work of AWHC’s investigations team.

We’re fighting to stop helicopter roundups and secure the humane conservation of our wild herds. But until we make that happen, we must continue to document and expose the full impacts of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, both during roundups and after them, so we can hold the agency accountable through our legislative and legal work. With summer roundups beginning on Monday, can you chip in toward our $25,000 goal to help us continue this important work in the months ahead?

DONATE

Thank you for standing up for wild horses and burros like Jolene and Porter.

– Team AWHC

Thanks to your generosity, we can tell their stories

, , , , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

With Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roundup season starting in just a few days, we are sending observers to document any cruelty during these dangerous operations. But our work doesn’t stop there. We also investigate what happens after wild horses and burros are captured and funneled into the BLM’s overcrowded holding system. Our Investigations Team files Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain government documents that reveal the harsh reality wild horses and burros face in BLM holding facilities.

Below, I’m going to tell you about some of the important FOIA work we’ve been doing to expose what’s happening to our wild horses and burros in BLM captivity — but first, please chip in to help us reach our $25,000 goal and prepare for the summer roundup season! →

HELP US PREPARE

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law that enables private citizens and organizations to access public records that federal agencies, such as the BLM, may be reluctant to release. This makes FOIA a powerful tool for uncovering critical and often revealing information about the mismanagement of our nation’s wild horses and burros.

For example, we discovered through a FOIA request earlier this year that, in 2023, a staggering 267 wild horses died at the Fallon (Indian Lakes) Off-Range Holding Corral in Nevada. This facility, which is the agency’s largest short-term holding facility in Nevada, has an average population of a little over 3,000 animals, with a capacity to hold over 7,000. This means 9% of the population died in just one year.

And these are not isolated incidents, Meredith. In 2022, we filed FOIA requests regarding the Blue Wing Complex roundup in Nevada. The BLM reported only 14 deaths during the roundup. But through our FOIA requests, we found that, in the 30 days after the roundup began, an additional 38 wild horses and burros perished in the Axtell holding facility where they had been sent.

As if that isn’t bad enough, the FOIA records also reveal in the three months after the roundup, another 25 horses and burros died in the holding facility. Their causes of death ranged from complications during gelding, to colic, to spinal cord injuries, and more. This brought the total deaths since the start of the roundup to approximately 77 wild horses and burros — a much larger number than the 14 animals the BLM reported as dead.

But perhaps the best example of how FOIA helps our cause is the work we’ve done investigating the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program (AIP). When we first heard that the AIP was sending adopted horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline, our investigations team leapt into action and filed dozens of FOIA requests to obtain the concrete evidence needed to expose the program. This work led to a front-page New York Times exposé and heightened congressional concern.

With thousands of wild horses and burros in the BLM’s crosshairs this summer, we’ve set a goal of raising $25,000 before July 1 to power our work to stand up for these iconic animals — including funding our investigations program. Will you make a contribution to help ensure our Investigations Team has the resources it needs to continue exposing the cruelty our wild herds suffer in BLM captivity?

HELP US REACH OUR GOAL

Thank you for your support,

Amelia Perrin
American Wild Horse Conservation

We are just DAYS away from the start of summer roundups!

, , , , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) summer roundup season begins this Monday. 

This summer, government helicopters will descend on wild horses and burros in five states across the West as the BLM continues its plans to round up over 20,000 of these iconic animals from their homes this Fiscal Year (FY).

The first herd targeted is the North Lander Complex wild horses in Wyoming where over 2,700 are slated to be permanently removed from the range. This is the largest roundup planned in FY 2024. And Meredith, that’s just the beginning – thousands more of these innocent animals will also face inhumane helicopter roundups in Nevada, Utah, California, and Oregon.

AWHC is working tirelessly to end the cruel practice of helicopter roundups and prove there is a better way to manage America’s wild herds. In the meantime, it’s crucial that we hold the BLM accountable for the abuses that wild horses and burros face during these capture operations. That’s why we’re preparing to send observation teams to as many of the planned helicopter roundups as possible to document the inhumane treatment of our wild herds – and we need your help to make it happen. 

To support this critical work ahead in the next few months – including funding these observation teams – we’ve set a goal to raise $25,000 by the start of the summer roundup season on July 1. Will you make a contribution to help us reach our goal so we can fight for thousands of wild horses and burros in danger of BLM helicopter roundups this summer?

HELP US REACH OUR GOAL

Helicopter roundups often leave wild horses and burros traumatized. Young foals are separated from their mothers, horses and burros are often run to exhaustion, injuries are common, and sometimes lives are tragically lost.

These operations take place in some of the most remote corners of the West away from the public eye. That’s why AWHC has assembled and trained a team of photographers and videographers who deploy to these locations and serve as our boots on the ground, ensuring transparency and accountability during roundups.

Our observation program is sustained by the generosity of wild horse champions like you. Will you chip in a contribution to help us reach our $25,000 goal so we have the resources we need to hold the BLM accountable this summer roundup season?

POWER OUR OBSERVATION PROGRAM

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

It’s not too late to speak out against the BLM’s sterilization plan

, , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

The essence of the North Lander wild herd is captured in its untamed stallions.

But in less than a week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will begin implementing a 10-year plan that includes the castration of up to 95% of the captured and returned stallions, threatening not only their wild behaviors but also the survival of the entire herd. 

This would be devastating, Meredith. The castration, or gelding, of wild stallions destroys their natural family dynamics. According to the National Academy of Science, castration leads to a “complete loss of male-type behaviors,” stripping these majestic creatures of their natural instincts and vigor. In a Utah study, castrated stallions lost their herds and struggled to maintain family bonds. These disruptions threaten the social fabric of wild horse herds.

To make matters worse, in addition to gelding, the plan also authorizes the use of unproven Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) in mares, as well as the widespread use of the unstudied vaccine Gonacon. If this plan is implemented, the permanent sterilization of the North Lander stallions and the use of untested IUDs could irrevocably fracture this herd’s genetic viability. 

There’s still time to speak out. Click here to call on the BLM to reevaluate its 10-year plan and to abandon the use of gelding and experimental IUDs on the North Lander wild horses. You can be a voice for these innocent animals.

SPEAK UP FOR NORTH LANDER

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

Working on the Hill to free horses on the range

, , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Today — and every day — our team is fighting to secure the freedom and safety of wild horses and burros across the West. Halfway through the year, we’re thrilled to celebrate the tremendous strides we’ve made for our wild herds. That includes our work on Capitol Hill, where Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have banded together to call for reforms to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) cruel and costly Wild Horse and Burro Program.

POWER OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS WORK 

 Photo: WilsonAxpe PhotoAdvocacy

The appropriations process is one of the best ways to advocate for change and is crucial for holding the BLM accountable. By determining how federal funds are allocated, Congress can ensure the BLM prioritizes humane in-the-wild management over cruel helicopter roundups.

And this year, thanks to the unwavering support from advocates like you, 77 representatives have called for humane wild horse management in the Fiscal Year 2025 House Appropriations legislation.

But our work doesn’t stop there. We are also actively supporting other critical legislation to further the cause of wild horses and burro conservation. These bills include:

  • Ejiao Act: This legislation aims to ban the import and sale of ejiao, a gelatin made from donkey hides, which is contributing to the decline of donkey populations worldwide.
  • Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023-24: This legislation seeks to end the BLM’s inhumane helicopter roundups.

Just this March, we led a nationwide Day of Action supporting the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023-24 (H.R. 3656). This Day of Action led to over 20,000 letters sent to Congress in support of this important legislation.

POWER OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS WORK

Our government relations efforts also involved building essential relationships in Congress. We regularly meet with legislators to provide them with timely updates and show them how they can support wild horses. Your generosity enables us to maintain these vital connections and ensure that wild horses and burros remain a legislative priority.

Our triumphs in Congress would be impossible without the tireless support of advocates like you who have signed thousands of letters to elected officials and fueled our cause with financial contributions. 

POWER OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS WORK

Unfortunately, while immense progress has been made, the fight is far from over. In fact, as summer heats up, helicopter roundups are about to take off across the West.

That’s why we need your help to continue to advocate for a better way in Congress and work to pass wild horse friendly legislation so, together, we can create lasting change for our beloved mustangs and burros. Will you donate $25, $50, or whatever you are able to give right now to help fuel our legislative efforts to protect America’s wild mustangs and burros?

POWER OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS WORK 

Your advocacy does not go unnoticed. Thanks for all you do!

Onward,

Team AWHC

A powerful story of stallion fatherhood

, , , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Happy Father’s Day!

Have you ever thought about the fact that America’s wild herds are simply made up of tight-knit families? These families are led by a lead mare and a band stallion. Most of us envision band stallions as dominant, aggressive leaders. And that’s true. Stallions are constantly prepared to protect their genetic lineage by whatever means necessary. But behind that fiercely protective demeanor, stallions are also nurturing and attentive fathers.

Give to Protect Wild Horse Families

This is Black Hawk. He has been roaming Nevada’s Virginia Range with his family for more than 17 years. 

Black Hawk is the oldest surviving son of Bodie Braveheart and Midnight Mama, who raised him to be a powerful leader and a devoted father. Black Hawk’s family began when he united with his first mare, Maxey. Together, they have built a band in the canyon, which, today, includes their youngest son, Bryson.

Around two or three years of age, it’s customary for stallions to leave the band they grew up in. For example, Black Hawk’s son Starry Night ran off with a herd of “bachelors” at age 2 but returned after a few months. Though it wouldn’t be unusual for a stallion to be shunned from the herd he left, Black Hawk welcomed his son warmly back into the fold until Starry Night was ready to set out on his own for good.

As Black Hawk climbs up in age, another of his sons, Shadow Dancer, has stuck with the band and shouldered a growing amount of responsibility for protecting his family.

Give to Protect Wild Horse Families

It’s common to see strong aggression between the two males during the fight for dominance between the two males when herd leadership transitions from one stallion to another. Yet, a few months ago, volunteers on the Virginia Range were privileged to witness the ceremonious transfer of power from Black Hawk to his son Shadow Dancer. As Shadow Dancer assumed his role as band leader, there was no fighting, no chaos — only peace and mutual respect.

We watched in awe as Maxey and Bryson remained by Black Hawk’s side, and the family bid Shadow Dancer and his mares — Chacha, Moma Socks, Maryjo Thinstar, and Chachie — farewell. In Black Hawk’s eyes was a look of relief, as if he knew the time had come for a younger stallion to take over.

In Black Hawk’s family line, love and respect are traits handed down from grandfather to father to son.

The work we do every day is aimed at protecting and conserving wild bands like the Black Hawk’s, who have called Nevada’s Virginia Range home for generations. This Father’s Day, will you chip in a few dollars to help fuel our mission for stallions like Black Hawk? 

Give to Protect Wild Horse Families

We appreciate you. Happy Father’s Day!

Team AWHC

In just a few weeks, summer helicopter roundups will begin in full force

, , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

In just a few weeks, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will begin its summer roundup campaign. Over the coming months, thousands of wild horses and burros, including newly born foals, will be subjected to dangerous helicopter roundups across the West. Families will be broken apart, thousands of innocent animals will lose their freedom forever, and many will be seriously injured or worse, killed.

HELP US PREPARE

The first of these roundups will take place at Wyoming’s North Lander Complex where the BLM will round up a jaw-dropping 2,766 wild horses from their homes. To make matters worse, the agency has authorized the gelding (castration) of up to 95% of captured and returned stallions at North Lander, as well as the implementation of unproven Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) in returned mares and the widespread use of the unstudied vaccine Gonacon.

Our team is fighting every day to bring an end to the BLM’s cruel and costly helicopter roundups – but until we can stop this practice for good, we must do everything we can to hold the agency accountable for what it’s doing to our wild herds. That’s why we send observers to document as many of these roundups as possible. We must show the world what is happening to our wild horse and burros.

Your support enables us to send our observation teams to the most remote corners of the West, where the BLM conducts many of these brutal operations, to ensure no animal welfare violation goes unrecorded. With just a few weeks left before the start of summer roundups, will you make a contribution today to help us hold the BLM accountable for this summer’s roundups?

FUEL OUR OBSERVATION FUND

We don’t just document these animal welfare violations, we compile our observers’ photos and videos to draw a clear pattern of cruelty against wild horses and burros. We then provide this evidence to change-makers in Congress, as well as use it for legal action when possible.

That’s why we need to ensure we have enough funds to send our observers into the field. Without them, the BLM’s actions will continue to be shrouded in secrecy. Please help us sustain our roundup observation program and help us hold the BLM accountable with a donation today.

DONATE NOW

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

Ushering the issue of wild horse conservation into the mainstream

, , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

In recent years, wild horse conservation is gaining more and more attention – in part thanks to American Wild Horse Conservation’s (AWHC) efforts to raise awareness about the issues facing our nation’s mustangs and burros.

If we’ve learned one thing as an organization, it’s that once people become aware of the plight of wild horses and burros, they are upset and motivated to take action to protect them.

FUEL OUR AWARENESS EFFORTS

That’s why we’ve been seriously ramping up our awareness efforts over the past several years. In the last month alone, we’ve placed and been included in 12 impactful stories in the media highlighting the dangers facing wild horses and burros, including the inhumane use of helicopters for roundups, the Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) slaughter pipeline — which is threatening the lives of hundreds of wild horses and burros — and more:

We’re translating this awareness into direct action for our wild herds.

Recently, we centered our efforts around three major focuses of our work:

  • Ending the AIP cash incentive: we mobilized our supporters to call for an end to the AIP, leading to 10,000 actions taken within 24 hours;
  • Increasing roundup transparency: 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;
  • And ending the donkey skin trade in the US: we called on our advocates to ask their representatives to cosponsor the Ejiao Act, resulting in over 31,000 total letters in support of this important bill.

Awareness is the key to bringing about the change our wild horses and burros desperately need. The BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program holding system is nearing its breaking point, with more than 64,000 horses in captivity and roundup season less than a month away. Time is of the essence as we work to spread the word about more humane alternatives to protect our wild horses in the wild, where they belong. Will you help continue powering AWHC’s awareness work as we fight to keep wild horses and burros wild, Meredith?

DONATE

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

TAKE ACTION: Tell the BLM to re-evaluate its plans to round up the Little Book Cliffs wild horses!

, , , , , 2

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Colorado’s iconic Little Book Cliffs wild horses need your help.

Photo: © PhotoAdvocacy

The Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range spans approximately 36,000 acres and is home to a beautiful herd of roughly 211 horses. But this September, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning to remove 120 wild horses from this historic herd, potentially cutting the population in half.

The BLM set an unscientific appropriate management level (AML) of just 90-150 horses for Little Book Cliffs, which could threaten the genetic viability of the herd in the long term. The plan calls for further roundups over a multiyear period following the initial helicopter roundup to achieve the federal AML target and allows for the use of Intrauterine Devices (IUDs).

This herd’s population has been managed through a humane PZP fertility control program for over twenty years, the last six without roundups, until the current proposal was introduced. This planned roundup is not only cruel and a danger to the lives of hundreds of innocent horses, but it’s also completely unnecessary.

Little Book Cliffs is an opportunity to prioritize humane PZP fertility control as the new model for wild horse conservation, consistent with the intent of SB23-275 – The Colorado Wild Horse Project – which was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis at Little Book Cliffs a year ago.

There is still time to voice opposition to the roundup of the Little Book Cliffs wild horses. Please join us in speaking out against the BLM’s proposed plan by signing onto our public comments calling on the agency to reconsider its plans to round up the herd and instead focus on expanding the humane fertility control program that has already been successful!

Take Action

The Colorado Wild Horse Working Group and the $1.5m funds allocated by the state to improve wild horse conservation provide us a chance to supplement and build on local efforts, not see them swept aside by costly and inhumane federal helicopter roundups.

Please take a moment to join us in standing up for the Little Book Cliffs wild horses by signing onto our public comments urging collaboration on, and the continuation of, humane fertility control programs in this herd.

Take Action

Thank you,

Team AWHC

Help Us Keep Burros Free and Wild

, , , , , 0

 

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

As the sun sets on Burro Awareness Month, we want to take a moment and reflect on the extraordinary impact we’ve made together this month. Thanks to your unwavering support, we’ve raised awareness in the media and Congress about the plight of the West’s incredible wild burros and built a solid foundation for the future of burro advocacy.

Chip in to Support Wild Burros

We started the month off celebrating World Donkey Day. We called upon our collective herd of wild burro advocates to ask their representatives to cosponsor the Ejiao Act. Your voices were heard—in just one day over 7,000 letters poured into Congress, advocating for the protection of burros and their domestic donkey counterparts. To date, over 31,000 advocates have called on their Members of Congress to support the Ejiao Act! This incredible show of support brings us closer to securing a future where burros are safe from exploitation. Will you take your support one step further and donate to ensure we can continue our lifesaving work?

Fuel our Work for Wild Burros

This Burro Awareness Month, we spent time educating the public about wild burros and their benefit to the ecosystems they inhabit. Research shows, that they dig for water and they create water holes that benefit other wildlife, particularly in arid environments. Their presence is crucial for maintaining the balance and health of their habitats and sustaining hundreds of plant and animal species.

Despite these benefits, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) continues to regard wild burros as invasive pests, leading to mass roundups that fracture fragile populations, harm individuals, and shatter their social bonds. In the coming months, the BLM plans to chase over 1,100 wild burros with helicopters, permanently removing them from their families and homes. We need your help documenting these roundups to continue to educate Congress and the public about this mistreatment of federally protected animals. To mark the end of Burro Awareness Month, will you help ensure we have the funds to document the upcoming roundups?

Every dollar you give helps us to advocate for stronger protective laws, conduct field research, document the lives of wild burros, and educate the public about the importance of burros in our ecosystems. Can you chip in and support the movement?

With gratitude,

Team AWHC

Introducing Baldy, Laney and Rain Storm

, , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Allow us to introduce you to Baldy, Laney, and Rain Storm. These three beautiful mares represent three generations of wild horses. Baldy is Laney’s mom and Laney is Rain Storm’s mom! Thanks to American Wild Horse Conservation’s fertility control program, all three live and free on Nevada’s Virginia Range.

Chip in to Support Wild Mares

The VR fertility control program uses the PZP vaccine, delivered remotely by darting to wild mares. For the past five years, this innovative approach to herd management has allowed these majestic horses to roam uninhibited by roundups, or the threat of slaughter.

As you may have heard, the success of this program was affirmed by a peer-reviewed study, which examined the viability of humane fertility control in herds like the one. Even with a herd the size of this one — more than 3,000 horses — the PZP vaccine has proven safe, humane, and effective.

Chip in to Support Wild Mares

We are laser-focused on our mission to end the Bureau of Land Management’s inhumane roundup and stockpile cycle and instead focus on humane, in-the-wild conservation initiatives. This study, published in March of this year, shows Congress, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the American public that there is a better way to protect mares like Baldy, Laney, and Rain Storm.

“Our hope is that this study provides impetus to the growing calls for reform of the federal wild horse management program, which relies on costly helicopter roundups, the unsustainable removal of wild horses, and confinement of these animals in tax-funded holding facilities.”
– Nicole Hayes, AWHC conservation scientist 

It costs just $30 to fund a single dose of the fertility control vaccine. This is a small price to preserve a life of freedom and dignity for horses like Baldy, Laney, and Rainstorm. On this 30th of May, can you chip in $30 to help us continue this vital program?

We are proud to lead the way in wild horse conservation through hands-on, humane programs like this. But we cannot do it without you. Your donation today can make an immediate difference for our wild herds.

Thank you for your dedication to keeping wild horses wild.

Onward,

American Wild Horse Conservation

The reality of what our wild herds face in BLM holding corrals

, , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Our team at American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) works day in and day out to uncover the truth about the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) wild horse and burro removal and stockpile program. 

Recently, our representatives attended the Winnemucca Holding Facility in Nevada where over 2,000 wild horses are confined in holding. There, they witnessed disturbing conditions, including a notable lack of shelter and windbreaks, leaving the animals exposed to weather. 

They also noted that the pens appeared too small to accommodate the number of horses they held, leading to overcrowding and competition for resources, especially water.

But most shocking of all, while touring the facility our representative saw what appeared to be a severely injured, possibly dead, or dying foal lying amongst the other animals in the pen. 

This is the dark reality of what awaits America’s wild horses and burros post-roundup. But sadly, this is not an isolated incident. 

BLM records obtained by our Investigations Team through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that 23 horses were euthanized or died at this same facility within a 24-day window in 2023.All deaths were attributed to suspected botulism poisoning. Additionally, just last month our Investigations Team also exposed that 9% of the captured horse population died at another Nevada holding corral in Fallon, Nev. 

With 64,000 of these iconic animals in BLM holding facilities across the country, exposing these conditions is vital to our mission to secure protections for wild horses and burros on and off the range. 

We are determined to end this suffering, but we need supporters like you to help us move forward. If you can, please chip in to support our investigations work so we can continue to raise awareness about the unacceptable conditions of BLM holding facilities.

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

SIGN ON: Tell the BLM to END the AIP cash incentive, not increase it >>

, , , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

You may have seen that, this week, the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) released a report praising the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) controversial Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which pays individuals $1,000 per animal to adopt up to four wild horses and burros a year. Unfortunately, this report not only ignores the consequences of the AIP, but it calls for increasing the cash incentive payments that are sending thousands of wild horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline. Further, this report supports the status quo of roundups and removals and minimizes the importance of scientific, affordable, and publicly acceptable wild horse conservation solutions.

We know the AIP has been a disaster and using this report to justify the continuation of the program would mean more beloved wild horses and burros in the slaughter pipeline. Will you take a moment to protect wild horses and burros from slaughter by calling on the BLM to abandon the cash incentives, not increase them?

TAKE ACTION

Since 2020, the BLM has rounded up over 50,000 wild horses and burros and adopted out a mere 15,000 through the AIP. During the same timeframe, our Investigations Team has identified over 2,100 BLM-branded wild horses and burros in kill pens. This is just a fraction of the true total since most kill pens don’t publicly advertise these animals before shipping them to slaughter.

Cash incentives are not a solution for addressing the animal welfare crisis created by the BLM’s roundup and removal program. It’s indisputable that the continuation of the cash incentives is placing the 64,000 wild horses and burros in the BLM’s holding system at risk of slaughter. We MUST speak up on behalf of these animals and stop this slaughter pipeline! Please join us in urging the BLM to end the cash incentives for the AIP.

TAKE ACTION

Our investigation – which resulted in a 2021 groundbreaking front-page exposé in the New York Times – identified over a dozen groups of related individuals that have been defrauding taxpayers out of thousands of dollars by adopting multiple rounds of AIP animals and then sending them to kill pens once the cash incentives clear their bank accounts. In some cases, these nefarious adopters go back just days after being awarded title to adopt their next round of animals.

Unfortunately, this crisis has only gotten worse since our investigation began, as the BLM continues to round up more and more mustangs and burros every year. In fact, the influx of AIP wild horses and burros into slaughter auctions has far exceeded the capacity of rescue organizations trying to save them.

END THE AIP CASH INCENTIVE

But, it’s vital that the BLM end the AIP cash incentive, not increase it. Instead of handing out cash payments, the BLM should offer a noncash veterinary voucher to support responsible adopters and offset the initial care of adopted wild horses and burros. But to make that happen, we need to raise our collective voices and demand the change these innocent animals desperately need.

Please take a moment to send a letter to the Director of the BLM and urge them to stop the cash incentives and instead, offer a veterinary voucher to incentivize responsible mustang and burro adoptions!

Thank you,

Team AWHC

WATCH: Scientific research details the positive impacts wild burros have on their ecology

, , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Wild burros are amazing animals who play important roles in the desert ecosystems they inhabit. However, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) entire approach to managing wild burros is colored by the belief that they are invasive and therefore destructive. This unscientific bias obscures the environmental benefits of wild burros and drives the BLM’s policy of maintaining unnaturally low population levels through large-scale roundups and removals from the range.

Science, however, is painting a different picture of wild burros as ecosystem engineers contributing to the biodiversity of plant and animal life. Our team recently spoke with leading burro researcher and internationally recognized ecologist Erick Lundgren to discuss the findings from his studies of wild burros in the American Southwest.

Click here to watch this fascinating interview with Dr. Lundgren!

WATCH

We must protect wild burros with humane conservation solutions, not cruel helicopter roundups. Sadly, over 1,000 of these amazing animals are scheduled to be removed from their homes on the range in BLM roundups over the next five months.

We know there’s a better way. That’s why we must continue to raise awareness about the plight of wild burros and the science that shows their benefits to their ecosystems. To learn more, watch this insightful interview with Dr. Lundgren!

WATCH

Thank you,

Team AWHC

SIGN ON: Join our demand for transparency at BLM Roundups!

, , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Thanks in part to AWHC’s public awareness campaigns, a growing number of Americans are speaking out against the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) cruel helicopter roundup and removal cycle. Despite this growing outrage, the agency continues to conduct these operations – oftentimes in some of the most remote corners of the West and away from the public eye.


Photo of the January 2024 roundup at Black Mountain by Darlene Smith

While we send observers to document as many of these roundups as possible, the BLM and its contractors enact restrictions on public observation, including placing our observers over a mile away from the trap. This often results in a significant lack of transparency during the roundups.

That’s why we are continuing to call on the BLM to require camera installations on all helicopters and wranglers used during roundups and at the trap sites of these operations. Will you join us and help ensure transparency and accountability for any violations during BLM helicopter roundups?

SIGN ON →

The roundups of the Black Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA) burros in Arizona over the past few years are prime examples of why these cameras are so desperately needed.

This HMA spans an impressive 1.1 million acres and encompasses public, state, tribal, and private lands in Mohave County, AZ. The BLM estimated the current population of the Black Mountain HMA to be nearly over 800 burros, making it one of the most genetically diverse wild burros herds left in the American Southwest.

Unfortunately, this herd has been repeatedly targeted for removal by the BLM and has suffered tremendously as a result.

Photo of the January 2024 roundup at Black Mountain by Darlene Smith

The agency targeted hundreds of burros for removal from the HMA this year in an attempt to reduce the population to an arbitrary Appropriate Management Level (AML) of just 478 burros. While the BLM did not meet its target, many burros were captured and removed from their homes, and one burro was even euthanized for a pre-existing condition.

This herd was also targeted in a particularly brutal roundup in 2022. AWHC had observers on the ground to document the operation, but it wasn’t until after the roundup had concluded that it was uncovered that the BLM granted its contractors permission to use electric cattle prods on several animals while loading them onto trailers. 

According to the agency’s own Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program Assessment, BLM contractor’s staff treated burros in an abusive and inhumane manner, including “aggressively hitting and jabbing the paddle into the sides and sensitive areas of burros.” 

The contractor faced little to no repercussions for their actions, and without this report, the mistreatment of these burros would remain unknown. But Meredith, if there were cameras on helicopters and at trap sites, the public could hold the BLM accountable for the the cruelty inflicted upon these animals.

AWHC is fighting hard to put an end to helicopter roundups through our work on Capitol Hill, in the courts, and in the field. But until we can stop them for good, there is only one way to guarantee that no BLM abuse goes undocumented. Will you call on the BLM to mandate camera installations on all helicopters and at trap sites used for roundups?

ACT NOW

Thank you,

Team AWHC

BREAKING: 77 House Reps Sign Letter Demanding Humane Treatment of Wild Horses, Burros

, , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

When wild horse advocates allies band together, we can move mountains — or at least make them safer for America’s wild horses and burros. This month, 77 members of U.S. Congress, from both sides of the aisle, called for humane wild horse management in the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) House Appropriations legislation.

In the language submitted, they have requested the following: 

  • The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) spends no less than 10% of its budget on humane fertility control in at least five herd management areas (HMAS).
    • If the BLM fails to implement acceptable fertility control programs within 120 days of the bill’s passing, it will incur a $100K reduction in program funding per day until it does so.

Give to Support Our Work on Capitol Hill

Why accountability matters: This isn’t the first time Congress has directed BLM to spend up to $11 million on humane fertility control programs. Despite this, the BLM continues to round up tens of thousands of wild horses and burros and funnel them into overburdened federal holding facilities, while historically spending less than 1% of its budget on humane fertility control.

Our advocacy in the federal government represents some of the most impactful work we do. The support by nearly 80 representatives is a clear indication that Congress shares our frustration with the BLM’s failure to reform its inhumane and unsustainable program We extend a special thank you to Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and David Schweikert (R-AZ) for leading the bipartisan effort to end BLM’s cruel, costly helicopter roundups.

Give to Support Our Work on Capitol Hill

Additional requests contained in the bipartisan letter: 

  • Prohibit the use of funds for ovariectomy procedures
  • Direct studies considering humane alternatives to helicopters
  • Stop cash incentive payments for adoptions
  • Identify HMAs and Herd Areas that could be redesignated for relocating horses as an alternative to off-range holding
  • Maintain the prohibition on the sale or adoption of healthy wild horses and burros that results in their destruction.

Meredith, our important work on Capitol Hill is powered by grassroots advocates like you. YOUR donations ensure we have the resources to expose federal agencies’ lack of accountability, educate elected leaders, and effect much-needed change for our wild herds. Can you chip in a contribution today to power this vital work? 

We are determined to hold the BLM accountable for continued inhumane and costly taxpayer-funded helicopter roundups. Thank you again to our legion of bipartisan support in Congress, and to YOU for following our fight to conserve our wild wild horses and burros.

Onward,

American Wild Horse Conservation

DONATE

Join our Day of Action and stand up for wild burros this World Donkey Day! >>

, , , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Today is World Donkey Day!!

World Donkey Day is dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation for donkeys – including our beloved wild burros. To commemorate this day, American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) is leading a Day of Action to protect both wild burros and domestic donkeys across the globe!

TAKE ACTION FOR DONKEYS AND BURROS! >>

Like wild horses, burros are faced with significant threats to their freedom and safety as a result of misguided federal policy that prioritizes cruel roundups instead of humane in-the-wild management. This summer alone, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning to round up over 1,600 wild burros from their natural habitats. The majority of these roundups will be done with helicopters. 

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.

To make matters worse, the captured animals will then be funneled into an overburdened holding system, where 64,000 wild horses and burros already languish. Then, they are at risk of entering the slaughter pipeline thanks to the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which was exposed by the New York Times as a pipeline to slaughter for “truckloads” of animals.

Donkeys and burros are especially at risk of slaughter in foreign slaughter plants due to the global demand for ejiao – a gelatin made from boiling donkey skins. Experts estimate that the global demand for donkey skins is approximately 4.8 million hides per year. As a result, the donkey skin trade is decimating global donkey populations. Luckily, countries across the world are starting to take action. Just this year, 54 African countries joined together to ban the ejiao trade.

The United States is the third largest importer of ejiao and is fueling this cruel trade. But, the good news is that Congress is taking notice. 

Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) recently reintroduced the ​​Ejiao Act (H.R. 6021), aimed at ending the United States’ involvement in this trade. This legislation would prohibit the transportation, sale, and purchase of donkeys or donkey hides for the purpose of producing ejiao and prohibit the transportation, sale, and purchase of products containing ejiao.

In honor of World Donkey Day, please join our Day of Action for donkeys and burros across the globe by asking your representative in Congress to cosponsor H.R. 6021 so we can finally ban the sale and transportation of ejiao in the United States. Then voice your support for these incredible animals on social media with the hashtags #KeepWildBurrosWild and #SaveOurBurros!

TAKE ACTION NOW

Thank you!

Team AWHC

Checking in

, , , , , , 0

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

My team let me know that it has been a while since we heard from you, so we wanted to check in. Recently, a lot has been going on in the fight to conserve the freedom and habitat of America’s wild horses and burros. And we want to make sure you are in the loop.

On Capitol Hill, several critical bills are being considered that will advance humane reforms to the federal management of our nation’s wild herds. One of these bills is the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023-2024 (H.R. 3656), which seeks to prohibit costly and inhumane helicopter roundups of wild horses and burros. American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) is working hard to pass this key legislation. We recently led a Day of Action, leading to over 20,000 letters sent to Congress urging support for the bill.

AWHC is also advocating for provisions to be added to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills that would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to enact several key reforms to its Wild Horse and Burro Program, such as:

  • Allocate no less than 10% of the agency’s budget for the implementation of humane fertility control programs in at least five additional Herd Management Areas (HMAs). If the BLM fails to do this 120 days after the passage of this bill, it will incur a$100,000 fine per dayuntil it implements acceptable fertility control programs.
    • Ensure no funds are used for permanent mare surgical sterilization.
    • Study humane alternatives to the use of helicopters.
    • End the BLM’s cash incentive component of the disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which has funneled hundreds of wild horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline.
    •And more!
FUEL OUR GR WORK

In the field, we’ve embarked on an exciting new initiative called the Land Conservancy Project. This innovative program aims to preserve and enhance key habitats for America’s wild horses and burros to support self-sustaining wild horse populations in ecological balance with the land and other wildlife. To this end, AWHC recently acquired 3,300+ acres of prime habitat in Nevada’s beautiful Carson Valley to serve as a pilot program for the project.

We’re also expanding our fieldwork, conducting humane, reversible fertility control programs on local wild horse herds. For the past four years, we’ve implemented the world’s largest humane management program for wild horses on Nevada’s Virginia Range. Now, we’ve recently been approved for a federal grant to support the implementation of a fertility control program on Utah’s Cedar Mountain herd!

FUEL OUR FIELD WORK

In the courtrooom, we’re taking the BLM head-on to protect wild horses and burros. We have two major ongoing federal lawsuits against the BLM. In Wyoming, we’ve been involved in critical litigation for more than a decade to prevent the eradication of wild horses from the Wyoming Checkerboard in favor of commercial livestock grazing. We are also suing the BLM over the alleged illegal implementation of the disastrous AIP.

FUEL OUR LEGAL WORK

With over 20,000 wild horses and burros slated for removal in FY 2024, these iconic animals need our support now more than ever. If you’re still with us in the fight to protect our wild herds and keep them in the wild where they belong, will you consider contributing today to help power this critical work?

Thank you,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Conservation

Load More