Over the last several months, the American Wild Horse Campaign — with assistance from Evanescent Mustang Rescue, Skydog Ranch and Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary — has been conducting an investigation into the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), leading to today’s New York Times report exposing this federal program as a subsidized pipeline to slaughter for federally-protected wild horses and burros.
The BLM’s AIP pays individuals $1,000 to adopt a wild, unhandled horse or burro. As AWHC predicted when the program was implemented in 2019, the initiative has been a disaster for these animals.It is now clear that the BLM is laundering horses to slaughter through the AIP and evading the long-standing Congressional slaughter ban.
This program is a predictable result of the BLM’s inhumane and costly mass roundup program and the agency’s efforts to empty holding pens to make room for the tens of thousands of horses and burros targeted for removal over the next five years.
Our investigation, as affirmed by the New York Times, has documented:
Wild horses and burros are being sent to slaughter through the AIP.
Adopters are collecting the payments then sending horses to livestock auctions known as “kill pens” where they are purchased by kill buyers and shipped across the border for slaughter.
Adopters are routinely violating their BLM adoption contracts, which they sign under penalty of perjury, prohibiting the sale of these animals directly or indirectly to slaughter.
Groups of related individuals are evading the four-horse adoption limit by adopting multiple horses each using the same location on their applications, then collecting as much as $30,000 in AIP payments and sales of the horses at kill pens.
The AIP additionally has resulted in severe neglect and abuse of horses and burros by adopters unqualified or uninterested in providing adequate care.
The AIP should not be allowed to continue. The BLM must stop rounding up wild horses and burros and start managing them humanely in the wild. Thousands of America’s iconic wild horses and burros are at risk and need your voice.
Please take these three actions to make change for them right now:
Sign our petition demanding an end to the AIP and to mass roundups that send too many wild horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline.
On the eve of Burro Awareness Month, our rescue partner Evanescent Mustang Rescue and Sanctuary alerted us about 12 burros that were dumped in an Oklahoma kill pen. The burros were rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and were ready to ship to slaughter any day.
These burros are likely victims of the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program, which pays a $1,000 incentive for individuals to adopt wild and unhandled horses and burros. The program is resulting in many of these beautiful wild animals being “flipped” to kill pens.
We knew we had to help Evanescent rescue these innocent animals and get them to safety ASAP.
AWHC’s Rescue Fund paid the bail for all 12 burros, and Evanescent rescued them and is providing a safe landing place where they can rest and heal until they are ready for adoption!
This victory wouldn’t be possible without the support of donors like you. The resources you help to provide the AWHC & our Rescue Fund are integral in helping our rescue partners save wild horses and burros.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the US Forest Service, and the National Park Service have long treated these long-eared equids with disregard and deliberate misinformation campaigns. Cattle grazing, road-building, big game hunting, gold and lithium mining and other commercial uses erode their habitat and damage their access to water.
With Deb Haaland as Secretary of Interior, there’s a chance to change this harmful pattern. But it may not save their skins unless awareness leads to concerted action — and pronto.
In the spirit of Burro Awareness Month, we would like to share with you a guest blog about these incredible animals written by advocate and burro-extraordinaire, Charlotte Roe. After you read it, follow the link at the bottom to support America’s burros.
You may be familiar with the Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area (HMA) in Colorado because of the world famous stallion, Picasso who called this 157,000-acre public lands habitat home, and who died wild and free on this very land. Unfortunately, the surviving members of his herd may not be so lucky.
The BLM is currently planning to roundup and remove over 80% of the Sand Wash wild mustangs, leaving only a population 163 — about 1 horse per every 980 acres!
Adding insult to injury, the local organization, Sand Wash Advocate Team (SWAT) has worked tirelessly to implement a PZP program to humanely manage the Sand Wash mustangs — and it’s working. Instead of a costly and cruel helicopter roundup, the BLM should invest more time and resources to support SWAT’s efforts and expand the PZP program in the HMA. This would be more humane for the horses and more cost-effective for the American taxpayers.
It’s unfortunately more bad news for the wild horses and burros that reside within the Calico Complex in Nevada. The BLM is targeting the estimated 1,700 wild horses and 70 wild burros for removal in this nearly 600,000-acre area.
The agency is also considering extreme manipulation of the wild horse and burro population remaining on the range by implementing unproven IUDs over scientifically proven PZP fertility control, unnaturally skewing the sex ratio in favor of males, and managing a fourth of the population as non-reproducing, including by castrating stallions.
In 2013 we started “Burro Awareness Month” to promote awareness and appreciation for the amazing and unique burros of America’s Southwest. Now, it’s time that we make it a national holiday!
Wild burros have the same rich history and are as culturally significant as wild horses, but unfortunately, they receive far less attention.
Burros were first introduced to the Desert Southwest by the Spaniards in the 1500’s, and served as reliable companions to explorers and pioneers on their treks throughout the West in the years thereafter.
They worked tirelessly to carry supplies and machinery to mining camps, and became indispensable to the workers. At the end of the mining boom many burros escaped or were turned loose, and with their innate ability to survive under the harshest conditions—wild herds eventually formed and flourished.
America’s burros are protected under federal law, but they are in crisis due to government mismanagement which has caused dwindling numbers and a lack of genetic diversity. Our goal is to keep burros wild and free on the range through humane management programs and initiatives to ensure healthy populations of wild burros living on our public lands.
Fewer than 15,000 burros are estimated to remain on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service lands across the U.S. Like wild horses, these agencies have historically managed burros by rounding them up and removing large numbers of them from the range.
First and foremost, thank you so much for being a supporter of our work on behalf of our beloved wild horses and burros.
From legislative victories and court battles to working to change the brutal practice of helicopter roundups, to running the largest humane PZP fertility control program for wild horses in the world, and so much more — your donation and support of the American Wild Horse Campaign goes a long way!
Since you’re such a great supporter, we wanted to reach out and just make sure you are getting the right amount of emails from us! We certainly wouldn’t want to be flooding your inbox.
No matter if you choose all updates or fewer emails, we thank you so much for staying engaged with us and supporting the fight to protect our wild horses and burros!
This week there are four important Action Alert deadlines for comments on mass roundup plans targeting wild horses and burros in Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado and California!
So, please take a moment to weigh in for meaningful change for wild horses and burros by taking the actions below:
Burros are incredible animals and evolving science is documenting the important role they play in the desert ecosystem. But a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plan for wild burros in the Lake Mead Complex outside Las Vegas would zero out wild burros from two of three habitat areas, and leave behind a minuscule number of burros in the third. For good measure, the BLM also wants to capture and remove every wild horse living in the area. Take action to oppose this by Friday.
The BLM is targeting the famed Sand Wash Basin wild horses in Colorado for mass roundup and removals. The HMA covers roughly 157,700 acres of public land and is currently home to an estimated 935 wild horses. The BLM’s proposed plan calls for the removal of 772 wild horses, leaving a mere 163 horses in this HMA!
The Sand Wash Advocate Team (SWAT) has worked tirelessly to implement a PZP program in this HMA, yet these horses are still targeted for mass removal. The BLM’s current plan calls for continued use of PZP, but would also allow for the use of unstudied IUDs as an alternative form of population control. Submit your comments by Saturday and oppose the BLM’s plan!
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) wants taxpayers to spend as much as $18 million to fund 6-8 years of wild horse helicopter roundups in the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory in the northeast corner of California. The USFS wants to reduce the wild horse population to a fraction of its current size in order to maximize commercial livestock grazing on public lands where the horses live.
Worse, even though they’re asking you to pay for it, the Forest Service doesn’t want your comments on the plan! However, as one of a handful of designated “stakeholders,” AWHC is committed to making your voice heard in this process. Sign our petition by Friday.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is again targeting the wild horses of the Wyoming Checkerboard for a massive helicopter roundup that will remove a shocking 3,500 wild horses — or 40% of the state’s wild horse population — from 3.5 million acres of habitat in the southern part of the state.
The plan calls for drastically reducing the population to just 1,550 wild horses roaming free. Under this proposal, the BLM plans to treat and release 290 mares with PZP and use unproven IUDs. The BLM is also considering an alternative plan that calls for the surgical sterilization of 100 mares, the castratation of 100 stallions, and would skew the sex ratio of the population to 60% stallions and 40% mares. Submit your comments by Friday to oppose the BLM’s plan!
Every year, April 26 is a day dedicated to encouraging horse lovers to come together and advocate on behalf of America’s beloved horses. And this year especially, we need your help to protect wild horses in danger of slaughter.
As part of an investigation into the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program, AWHC staff members have been monitoring kill pens across the country and documenting so many BLM mustangs being sold at these slaughter auctions.
In our search, one AWHC staff member came across a one-year-old mare at a kill pen in Texas. She was all alone and due to ship to slaughter in less than a week.
The sad reality is, that with so many wild horses and burros in kill pens across the country, many rescue organizations are spread thin in their efforts to save these animals.
We knew we had to step in and save the little roan filly, so we partnered with Montgomery Creek Ranch, a beautiful wild horse sanctuary in northern California, to pull her out of the kill pen.
There are so many beautiful and beloved wild horses and burros that are trapped in kill pens all across the country, thanks to the BLM’s terrible Adoption Incentive Program, which creates a financial incentive to adopt and then dump these innocent animals.
So far, we’ve been able to help rescue more than a dozen wild horses from kill pens, thanks to wonderful sanctuaries and rescue groups, and with the help of generous supporters like you. Your support will help us help save more horses from slaughter, like the filly we were able to rescue from Texas.
We have another exciting AWHC win this week!SJR3, the resolution calling for the roundup of more than 40,000 Nevada wild horses and burros, is dead!
The resolution did not advance out of the Nevada Senate Committee on Natural Resources for a Senate floor vote by yesterday’s deadline. This is good news! While the resolution did include AWHC’s amendment to prioritize funding for humane fertility control over mass removals, it still contained problematic language blaming wild horses for damage to public lands caused by livestock grazing and other commercial activities.
If SJR3 as originally written had passed, the Nevada Legislature would have asked Congress to fund an 85% reduction in Nevada’s wild horse herds. And, as the state where over half of America’s wild horses reside, Nevada’s voice on this issue is very influential in Congress. That’s why the defeat of SJR3 is very important.
We wanted to say thank you on behalf of AWHC and Nevada’s wild horses and burros.
Thanks to everyone who weighed in against this resolution and made wild horses a top issue in the Nevada legislature, currently second only to guns!
But Erica, even though SJR3 has been killed, our work is not over. AWHC is continuing our fight to protect wild horses and burros all over the West — with several other legislative and legal battles happening across the country right now.
If you’d like to make a donation to help us gather the resources necessary to continue this fight, thank you — you can use the button below to do so. If you’re unable to make a donation at this time, no worries — we’re grateful for your help in protecting the wild horses and burros of Nevada. Please stay tuned for more updates!
This past December, in collaboration with Utah citizen, Robert Hammer, we filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior to stop the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from performing risky and inhumane surgical sterilization surgeries on federally-protected wild mares recently rounded up in Utah.
And, we’re happy to report that this morning, government attorneys informed our lawyers that the BLM is dropping their plans to conduct inhumane sterilization surgeries on wild mares in Utah.
Not only is this a huge victory on behalf of the wild horses of Utah, but this is also the THIRD time that AWHC’s legal action has blocked the BLM from proceeding with the controversial surgeries in wild mares!
The new leadership of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland — someone who AWHC supporters like you pushed your members of Congress to confirm — no doubt played a key role in the BLM’s decision to drop plans to conduct these invasive and risky surgeries.
When in Congress, Sec. Haaland was a champion for wild horse protection, signing onto a letter spearheaded by AWHC and the Animal Welfare Institute, calling on the BLM to abandon plans to conduct sterilization surgeries. She also co-sponsored a House amendment to promote fertility control as a humane management option.
And this morning, we saw the effects of having wild-horse friendly leadership in Washington!
While today was a big win, your support is still critical to our efforts to ensure that wild horses and burros maintain their freedom and remain protected from special interests. We are already gearing up for necessary legal action to defend wild horses in Wyoming, California, and other states against proposed federal actions to decimate wild herds.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service are currently preparing for the upcoming roundup season, and as such, have released several disastrous plans for mustangs and burros that need your immediate attention.
We’ve told you recently about a lot of roundups planned and we know sometimes this news can be overwhelming. But don’t forget — the power to stop this is in our hands, and we are gaining more support every day … with the public, in the scientific community, in state legislatures, and on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers know that wild horses and burros have a loud and powerful constituency and we must keep raising our voices for change so that they are truly protected on our public lands.
Please take a few moments to read about the latest roundup plans below, and then ACT!
The BLM recently released a plan that would permanently remove 3,500 wild horses — or nearly 40 percent of the state’s wild horse population — from 2.5 million acres of habitat in the “Wyoming Checkerboard” in the southern part of the state. The plan calls for drastically reducing the population to the low Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs) in five federally designated Herd Management Areas (HMAs): Adobe Town, Salt Wells Creek, Great Divide Basin, White Mountain, and Little Colorado.
This mass roundup plan will cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. It will cost these historic wild horses their families, their freedom, and, for many, their lives. The cruel policy is driven by commercial interests, in particular, the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA), whose members graze their cattle and sheep on public lands and view the horses as competition for cheap grazing. Since 2011, AWHC has been involved in litigation against the RSGA to defend the wild horses in this area and has amassed numerous court victories, including at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. We intend to continue the legal fight to defend Wyoming’s wild horses and to rally public opposition to this plan.
Please weigh in now in opposition of this disastrous plan!
The U.S. Forest Service plans to step up its assault on the Devil’s Garden wild horse herd in California’s Modoc National Forest. Its years-long battle against these historic wild horses began in 2012, when the agency attempted to reduce the size of their habitat by 22,000-acres. We went to court and we stopped them. Pursuant to an appellate court ruling, the Forest Service must consider those 22,000 acres as an active part of the horses’ habitat.
Now, the Forest Service has released an “AML Implementation Plan” that is only being sent to “stakeholders”. The plan reduces the Devil’s Garden wild horse population to just 206-402 mustangs (down from 1,900 today) to achieve an “Appropriate” Management Level that was set based on the illegal elimination of 22,000 acres of the horses’ habitat. The plan does not evaluate the appropriate population size for the larger habitat and is based on the policy of allocating most of the forage in the area to commercial livestock. Indeed, the agency permits an incredible 3,700 privately-owned cows and 2,900 privately-owned sheep to graze in the mustangs’ habitat! And if all of that wasn’t enough, the Forest Service has rejected our offer to implement a humane fertility control program to actually manage the horses effectively in the wild, instead of relentlessly rounding them up with helicopters, penning them, and selling them for $1 a piece.
AWHC is considered a stakeholder with the ability to comment on this plan, but we represent all of you — the American people — and believe that you should also have a say. So please join us in signing onto our letter opposing this inhumane and expensive management plan.
The BLM is seeking public comments on a roundup and removal of wild horses from the Sulphur HMA in Utah.
In 2017, the Beaver County Commissioners in Utah filed a lawsuit seeking to force the BLM to remove all “excess” wild horses from the Sulphur HMA. The request sought to eliminate hundreds of federally-protected wild horses from their habitat in order to reduce the competition with domestic livestock. AWHC and our coalition immediately filed a Motion to Intervene in order to protect wild horses on the range. Earlier this year, the case was settled out of court.
Now, the wild horses are back on the chopping block. The HMA is made up of 265,711 acres of public and private land and is currently home to an estimated 414 wild horses. However, the BLM set the “Appropriate” Management Level for this HMA at just 165-250 wild horses. The plan calls for achieving the low AML, leaving just one horse per every 1,600 acres! At the same time, like most of the areas where wild horses live, the BLM allows thousands of sheep and cattle to graze within the HMA. Please take action today.
The U.S. Forest Service recently released a Territory Management Plan for the Heber wild horses, a unique band of horses that reside within the Apache Sitgreaves Forest in northern Arizona. This plan will decimate this historic population, leaving as few as 50 horses on nearly 20,000 acres of public land! Meanwhile, the agency permits thousands of cattle to graze within the horses’ habitat.
These horses have been the target of brutal shootings in the Forest that have left 28 dead since 2018. Enough is enough. We must speak up loudly for the Heber wild horses and demand better treatment, a fairer plan, and ultimately, justice!
Today marks 2 years since we relaunched our PZP fertility control program in the Virginia Range in Nevada. We can’t believe it’s been 2 years already!
Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) is a scientifically-proven fertility control vaccine given to female horses on the range through an injection via remote darting with an air rifle. It’s administered in a two shot process — the first is a primer, which is then followed by a booster approximately two weeks later. The vaccine prevents fertilization and pregnancy via an immune response that does not affect the horse’s hormonal system.
The result is a humane and cost efficient way to control wild horse populations, rather than subjecting wild horses to brutal helicopter roundups!
We signed our Virginia Range Fertility Control Cooperative Agreement with the Nevada Department of Agriculture 2 years ago, today, with support from Nevada Assemblyman Jim Wheeler, Blockchains CEO Jeff Berns and Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak. And Erica, we’re happy to report that we’ve celebrated some pretty big successes since then!
Take a look below at some of our PZP program’s successes to date:
Right now, we are early into foaling season, Erica, but so far we are trending with 62% fewer foals born on the Range compared to this time last year. Even better, the current numbers reflect a zero population growth, which is fantastic given our goal of humane population reduction in this herd whose habitat has been dramatically reduced by development! These numbers will continue to fluctuate and change as we get further into foaling season, but it is a very promising start.
Here at the American Wild Horse Campaign, we run a Foal Rescue Fund to provide vet and critical care, safe transportation for baby foals in need of medical attention, and the creation of field kits to provide immediate treatment to foals while volunteers are on the range.
We have also provided funds to help build a critical foal care nursery, and to retrofit a retired ambulance to ensure that foals can be safely transported to get the care they need.
On the Virginia Range, saving foals is a real community effort and we are proud to play a key role in it. On March 22, two AWHC fertility control volunteers came across a wild horse band with a tiny baby foal named Hazel.
They quickly realized the foal wasn’t with her mother and instead was with a guardian mare who wasn’t able to feed her. The team tried but was unable to locate her family. That’s when the community coalition sprung into action. The range management team at Wild Horse Connection (WHC) was contacted. WHC secured permission to help the foal, then dispatched the Technical Large Animal Rescue Team (TLAR) to execute the rescue mission.
The filly went to LBL Equine Rescue to receive care while the local groups tried to locate her family. Hazel perked up with the loving care she received all night! Using their field knowledge and AWHC’s extensive wild horse identification database, the TLAR team tried to find Hazel’s mother the next morning — but a reunion was ultimately unsuccessful.
Foals are so delicate, and any seemingly healthy one can crash quickly. That was the case with Hazel.
She had to be rushed to the vet clinic, where they put her on an IV and antibiotics after discovering she had intestinal inflammation and four different bacterial infections. Hazel also needed a plasma infusion to fight the infections, but she was quite the little fighter and the vets made sure she received the best care possible!
We’re happy to say, Hazel was released back to the rescue on March 30th!
Our Foal Rescue Fund is helping to cover Hazel’s mounting vet bills. This is why our Rescue Fund is so important — we’ve helped fund the local nursery where Hazel is being cared for, we’re purchasing kits that help provide immediate medical care in the field for quickly crashing foals, and we’ve provided resources to help retrofit a retired ambulance that is used by the TLAR rescue team to transport critical care foals to safety.
The more funds we raise for our Foal Rescue Fund, the more we can help tiny, vulnerable foals like Hazel and support the wonderful local volunteers and groups who work night and day to protect the Virginia Range horses in Nevada.
We could lose 40,000 wild horses if you don’t act TODAY!
SJR 3, a resolution that calls on Congress to fund brutal helicopter roundups of at least 40,000 of Nevada’s cherished wild horses and burros, is being pushed by cattlemen, big game hunters and wildlife trappers who want to profit from the public land where wild horses roam.
Nevada’s wild horses belong to all Americans, so we need everyone to weigh in against this bill today.
Please send an email to the Nevada Senate Natural Resources Committee and tell them that you oppose SJR 3: SenNR@sen.state.nv.us. Be sure to use the subject line “I oppose SJR3.”
Personalized emails will make the most impact! Use these talking points when sending your email:
SJR 3 supports brutalizing Nevada’s wild horses and burros and decimating their wild populations so cattle can graze the public lands where they live.
SJR 3 is against the wishes of 86% of Nevadans who want to protect and humanely manage wild horses and burros.
SJR3 supports spending $1 billion or more in taxpayer dollars on the failed approach of roundups instead of long-term solutions like fertility control.
SJR3 will harm Nevada ecotourism and business development because few of these iconic animals will be left for visitors and residents to enjoy.
SJR 3 would lead to slaughter because the cost of rounding up and incarcerating so many wild horses and burros would quickly become untenable.
It’s critical that you weigh in against SJR 3. Please email SenNR@sen.state.nv.us now!
Here at the American Wild Horse Campaign, we are thrilled about the news that Deb Haaland has been confirmed by the Senate to be the next U.S. Interior Secretary.
This is a critical role for not only the management of America’s wild horses and burros, but also their ability to roam freely and stay wild.
We applaud this historic nomination and look forward to Secretary Haaland’s inspired leadership in the fight to protect America’s public lands and wildlife. She has long been a champion for reforming the mismanaged federal wild horse and burro program, and we look forward to working with her to implement sensible solutions to humanely manage these majestic animals — which 80% of Americans want to protect.
This is a HUGE victory for wild horses. The American Wild Horse Campaign successfully launched a grassroots push, which resulted in over 5,000 letters sent to Senators all across the country in support of Deb Haaland’s confirmation.
Now we have a wild horse-friendly Secretary of the Interior who we will work with to put the brakes on the BLM’s plans for mass roundups and inhumane sterilization of wild horses.
The work has just begun and Secretary Haaland will need our unwavering support to overcome opposition to reforming the BLM’s mismanaged wild horse and burro program.
The stakes are high. Right now, the beloved Onaqui wild horses of the West Desert in Utah are scheduled for roundup and removal starting July 1. The Bureau of Land Management is still planning to conduct brutal sterilization procedures on captive wild mares from the Confusion HMA in Utah. And Congress has begun its annual Appropriations process and is considering funding for the BLM’s inhumane Wild Horse and Burro Program.
It’s official! Rep. Deb Haalad has been confirmed as the new Secretary of the Interior! As the first Native American nominated to this position, Secretary Haaland has bravely broken through barriers and the significance of her leading the Department of Interior cannot be overstated. Her historic and inspiring confirmation is a ray of hope for all Americans who cherish our public lands and wildlife, and especially our magnificent wild horses and burros.
Before the Senate’s historic vote to confirm her nomination, Secretary Haaland tweeted:
Indeed as a Congresswoman from New Mexico, Secretary Haaland was a champion for the environment and our public lands – including the protection of the wild horses and burros that call them home. Secretary Haaland brings a new ethic to the table right where it matters most, at the heart of the Interior Department.
In the House of Representatives she:
Co-sponsored a historic House amendment, initiated by AWHC and our coalition partners in DC, requiring the BLM to redirect $11 million of the Bureau of Land Management’s annual budget towards PZP fertility control, rather than mass roundup and removals.
Cosigned a bipartisan letter, urging the Senate to pass the fertility control amendment.
Took a stand against the BLM’s brutal surgical sterilization procedures, urging it to instead use humane, scientifically proven fertility control methods.
With Secretary Haaland at the helm, we are moving in the right direction — towards the protection and preservation of America’s iconic wild horses and burros. AWHC looks forward to implementing sensible solutions to humanely manage these majestic animals that 80 percent of Americans want to protect.
This summer is going to be a hard one for our cherished wild herds. Their freedom, families, and even their lives are going to be on the line.
Right now, helicopter roundups are paused until July 1 for foaling season. But shortly thereafter, one of the most beloved herds in the country will again be targeted for removal: the wild horses of the Onaqui Mountains in Utah. We have a plan in place to attempt to stop the operation from proceeding and we need your support.
In August, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning to conduct brutal surgical sterilization procedures on captive wild mares from the Confusion HMA in Utah. We have already filed suit to stop them and will need the resources to continue what could be a long, drawn-out battle.
Congress has already begun its annual Appropriations process, considering funding for the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. Will it continue to throw money at the mass roundup and removal of wild horses and burros, or will it require the agency to shift focus to humane, on the range management of mustangs? The outcome depends on us. We need your assistance to help keep our team on Capitol Hill.
While there is much at stake for our wild horses and burros, there are also big opportunities to create meaningful change with a new administration, Interior Secretary, and BLM Director. But time is of the essence — we must act now.
Here is your latest news on all things wild horses and burros!
Wild Horse Champion Haaland Heads to Interior Department
On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold a confirmation hearing to consider the nomination of New Mexico Representative Deb Haaland for secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Secretary-designate Haaland would be the first Native American to head this department that oversees more than 450 million acres of public land in the nation.
AWHC has had the pleasure of working with Secretary-designate Haaland in Congress. As chair of the Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee, she has worked to reform the inhumane and expensive federal wild horse roundup program by supporting humane solutions, such as PZP fertility control, and has opposed the brutal surgical sterilization procedures the BLM continues to pursue.
Because Secretary-designate Haaland is a champion of protecting our public lands and the wild animals that inhabit them, her nomination faces stiff opposition from the oil/gas, mining, and livestock industries. So, today, we’re asking everyone who cares about wild horses and burros and our public lands to take just a moment to call your Senators in support of her confirmation.
Please call Senator Michael Bennet at (202) 224-5852 and Senator John Hickenlooper at (202) 224-5941
You can say, “Hello, I am a constituent of Senator [Name] and I am calling to ask that they please support the confirmation of Deb Haaland* for Interior Secretary. Her leadership is necessary to protect our nation’s public lands and natural resources, including our federally-protected wild horses and burros. Thank you.” *pronounced like the country, Holland.
New BLM Wild Horse and Burros Advisory Board Member Called Wild Horses a ‘Protein Source’
Speaking of a new Interior Department, former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and his illegally serving Bureau of Land Management (BLM) director William Perry Pendley will go down in history as the worst stewards of our nation’s public lands. The past four years have seen an unrelenting assault on the environment, wildlife, and America’s wild horses and burros.
Before they left town, Bernhardt and Pendley appointed Beaver County, Utah Commissioner Tammy Pearson to represent the “public interest” on the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. Pearson is a flagrantly corrupt choice for this position. A 40-year public lands rancher whose allotments are in wild horse Herd Management Areas in Utah, Pearson has lobbied and testified for wild horse roundups and in favor of horse slaughter.
She discounts the strong opinion of the American public against the slaughter of wild and domestic horses as “romanticizing” an animal that the “whole rest of the world” considers a “protein source.” In her 2017 testimony before the Utah legislature, she blamed horses for all the damage in the areas where her cattle graze and claimed that wild horses there were suffering from overpopulation and starvation. You can listen to her testimony below.
AWHC opposes this unscrupulous appointment and believes it violates a conflict of interest provision under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, so we’re taking action. We’ll keep you posted and in the meantime, be sure to check out our Op-ed about her appointment, published yesterday in the Grand Junction Sentinel. >> Read More <<
We’re Fighting for Humane Management With Science
Instead of the unscientific approach of mass helicopter roundups, humanely managing wild horses requires a more sophisticated method that relies on fieldwork and on-the-ground knowledge of the horse or burro populations a particular BLM district is managing.
AWHC aims to harness science and technology to advance the goal of humane management of these iconic animals. AWHC already runs the largest humane wild horse fertility control program in the world. Now we’re excited to be partnering with WildMe, a non-profit that builds open software and artificial intelligence for the conservation community with the goal of protecting at-risk species.
Our goal is to develop an algorithm that will identify individual horses from photographs, something that will greatly enhance the efficiency of our fertility control efforts while providing a mechanism for accurate censusing and tracking of wild herds, using citizen science for the collection of data.
Currently, our Virginia Range fertility control program volunteers identify horses manually by photograph, based on our extensive database of more than 3,000 horses cataloged by color, markings, social affiliation, location and any other identifying features. It’s a method that works, as evidenced by our record of delivering over 3,000 fertility control treatments in less than two years. However, it is time-consuming. Having an algorithm that allows a volunteer to take a photo, run it through the software and come up with the data file on that specific horse will make the process of identifying mares in need of PZP treatment much faster – something our volunteers — who are often in the field under punishing weather conditions – will greatly appreciate!
The research should be complete by June and we should know at that time whether the algorithm (PIE) being tested will work for horses. We’ll keep you posted. >> Learn More <<
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! It’s a day to celebrate love and we need to look no further than our magnificent wild horses to appreciate the true meaning of this emotion.
Wild horses live in tightly-knit communities. Mares never stray too far from their young, stallions fight to protect their families from danger, mutual grooming is a daily occurrence, and herds hold vigil when one of their own passes away.
We wanted to spread some love of our own with you today in the form of downloadable Valentines for the sweetheart in your herd!
Your love for wild horses and burros inspires us every day. Thank you for everything you do to create a brighter future for these amazing animals.
We hope that you have a beautiful Valentine’s Day!
Speak Up for the Wild Horses and Burros of the Surprise Complex on the California-Nevada Border
Once again, the BLM’s reliance on unscientific “Appropriate Management Levels” for wild horses has set the stage for the roundup and removal of over 1,000 mustangs that call Nevada’s Surprise Complex home. What’s worse, the BLM “doesn’t manage” for wild burros in this area, so every burro living there will be captured and removed as well. The BLM’s goal of leaving only 283 mustangs in the Complex — just one horse for every 1,400 acres — would open even more land to the thousands of sheep and cows allowed to graze on public lands in the area.
This means once more, we need to speak up for a better way: Replacing brutal and inhumane helicopter roundups and cruel sterilization procedures with humane and proven fertility control methods.
Will you speak up for the Surprise Complex horses and burros today? Submit a public comment advocating for use of the PZP birth control vaccine and revising the plan that favors commercial livestock over federally-protected wild horses and burros. >> Take Action <<
One Nevada Roundup Nears End, Another Set to Begin
Since before the New Year, AWHC’s Field Representative has been onsite for the vast majority of the roundup and removal of wild horses from the Eagle Complex outside of Panaca, Nevada. Braving the frigid winter elements and grueling days, he has been the only member of the public on the ground to document the daily operations and bring the news to you. As is routine, the BLM sometimes keeps public observers so far from the capture site that documenting what’s happening is close to impossible. At the Eagle roundup, the BLM has also prevented daily observation of temporary holding pens, making it dififcult to assess the condition of the just-captured horses in a roundup that has had an unusually high number of deaths.
This roundup is the third time in four years that the BLM is removing wild horses from the Complex. At the time of this email, 872 wild horses have been captured in the current roundup and 22 have lost their lives.>> Read the Report <<
Here are a few heartbreaking images from the operation:
Once the Eagle roundup is over, BLM-contracted helicopters will move on to the neighboring Silver King HMA beginning on or about February 5. This HMA consists of 574,962 acres of public land and is currently home to just 343 wild horses, including the 2020 foal crop. The BLM wants the public to believe that this nearly 900-square-mile habitat can only support 60-128 horses and it intends to permanently remove up to 258 of these federally protected animals from their homes on our public lands. This one roundup of a wild horse population that is clearly not overpopulated could cost taxpayers more than $14 million over the lives of the horses removed.
Our field representative will be onsite at the Silver King roundup to witness, document and bring you the latest on this unjust system that we are all working so hard to change.
Records Reveal Veterinarians Didn’t Back Plan to Brutally Sterilize Wild Mares
One of the more egregious plans the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released over the last several years for the “management” of wild horses is the proposed surgical sterilization procedure called ovariectomy via colpotomy.
This outdated procedure is a blind surgery in which a veterinarian inserts his arm into a mare’s abdominal cavity through an incision in the vaginal wall, manually locates the ovaries, then twists severs and removes them using a rod-like tool with a chain on the end. The surgery is outdated, inhumane and dangerous, and will result in pain, suffering, and potentially life-threatening complications for wild mares.
Despite multiple lawsuits, federal injunctions, and overwhelming congressional and public opposition, the BLM continues to push this option, culminating in its most recent decision to move forward with conducting this procedure on wild mares from Utah’s Confusion Herd Management Area (which AWHC promptly sued to stop). Throughout it all, the agency continues to say that veterinarians are in support of the procedure, though recently obtained records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) tell a different story.>> Read More <<
Meet the Mustang: Rapunzel
AWHC operates the world’s largest humane fertility control program for wild horses in the world on Nevada’s Virginia Range. And as such, the team of darters and documenters have come to know many of the 3,000 mustangs that are part of the program!
In our newest series, the volunteers who make this program a success will introduce you to the mustangs they have spent time with on the range, often watching them grow up. First in this series is the story of Rapunzel, written by Deb Sutherland, a volunteer who had the pleasure of watching this beautiful mustang take her very first steps in the wild. >> Read More <<
A new year, a new administration, and wild-horse friendly leadership at the Interior Department and on the House Natural Resources Committee. Thisis our moment to make real change for wild horses and burros this year — the 50th Anniversary of the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
Urging the government to declare our nation’s wild horses and burros as historic and cultural resources, prioritize humane fertility control over roundups and prohibit cruel mare surgical sterilization as a management tool.
Continuing to demonstrate through boots-on-the ground work that humane management of wild horses is not just possible; it can be done. We’ll do this by working to expand our groundbreaking PZP program in the Virginia Range to other herds in the West.
Putting science at the forefront of wild horse management — we will be launching exciting new initiatives that analyze our PZP program data and create an economic report to highlight the missteps of the current mismanagement path and the cost-savings of an alternative approach.
Continuing to amplify our work and your voice on Capitol Hill while pursuing legislation to finally give our wild horses and burros the protection they deserve.
This is an ambitious agenda, but this is our year to fight hard for the change we want to see in the world. It will take every one of us stepping up however we’re able — whether it’s lending your voice, time, or money.
This is our time to prioritize, protect and elevate America’s iconic wild horses and burros and the public lands they call home. I’m so excited to see what we accomplish together in 2021. Thank you for standing with us – we can’t do this work without you!
