Wild Mustang/Burro Campaigns

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: Recently we asked you to take action and ask your representative to support pro-wild language in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations legislation. Our records indicate that your representative supported wild horses last year, but has not joined this year in calling for reforms to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program. Take Action Right now, Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and David Schweikert (R-AZ) are circulating a bipartisan sign-on letter to the Appropriations Committee urging it to support pro-wild horse language in Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations legislation. This language would hold the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) accountable for the implementation of robust, in-the-wild conservation through the use of fertility control, ultimately reducing helicopter roundups. But we need your help. Can you take a moment to urge your representatives to support wild horse and burro conservation in the FY25 appropriations legislation? This language will require the BLM to: - 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 day until it implements acceptable fertility control programs. - Ensure no funds are used for ovariectomy procedures - Study humane alternatives to the use of helicopters and manned fixed-wing aircraft - 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 - Continue to prohibit the sale or adoption of healthy wild horses and burros that results in their destruction. Last year your representative supported pro-wild horse language in the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bill but they have not signed on again this year. Will you please take a moment to thank them for their past support and urge them to support this year's Fiscal Year 2025 language? Thank you for your advocacy, Team AWHC ...

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, so we wanted to provide you with a legal update. Wyoming Checkerboard AWHC and our co-plaintiffs, the Animal Welfare Institute, Western Watersheds Project, author and Casper College instructor Dr. Chad Hanson, and wildlife photographers Carol Walker and Kimerlee Curyl, continue to pursue a more than decade-long battle to save the iconic wild horses of the Wyoming Checkerboard. Specifically, our lawsuit challenges a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decision to "zero out" (eliminate all wild horses from) the Great Divide Basin and Salt Wells Creek Herd Management Areas (HMAs) and eliminate wild horses from 2 million acres of designated habitat within the state. We’re up against not only the BLM, but also the powerful Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA), which views wild horses as competitors for cheap livestock grazing on public lands. Adoption Incentive Program Our lawsuit against the BLM's notorious Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) is pending a decision in federal court. Filed by AWHC and Skydog Sanctuary, this legal action challenges the agency's implementation of the AIP, asserting that the failure to analyze the impacts of the program on federally-protected wild horses and to provide the public the opportunity to comment on plan violated several federal laws. As we predicted, the cash-for-adoption scheme has been a disaster for wild horses and burros, sending truckloads of these innocent animals into the slaughter pipeline. We aim to halt the program through this litigation. Freedom of Information Act AWHC’s investigations team works to promote accountability and transparency by using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain government records. that shed light on federal wild horse and burro management. We have filed dozens of FOIA requests with the BLM and U.S. Forest Service, but both agencies habitually violate the requirement for a response within 20-working-days. As a result, we are forced to file legal action. We currently have 19 pending federal lawsuits seeking to compel the release of records relating to the Adoption Incentive Program, livestock grazing information, and the transportation of wild horses and burros between holding facilities. SUPPORT OUR LEGAL EFFORTS RECENT UPDATES: This month, federal courts have issued rulings unrelated to AWHC's cases but with potentially positive impacts for wild horses.  In Nevada, the court ruled that the BLM violated federal law by failing ...

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: Right now, federal helicopters are grounded for wild horse foaling season. This is a critical time when new babies are born and bond with their mothers and the rest of their families. But starting in July, the federal government is set to resume the inhumane roundup and removal of thousands of wild horses and burros across the West.  Photo by Brian Clopp This summer, a staggering 11,114 of these iconic animals will be targeted for capture, and 10,646 will be permanently removed. To make matters worse, all of the scheduled roundups this summer will be conducted using helicopters.  These cruel 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 commonplace, and sometimes lives are tragically lost. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) conducts these operations 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 supported by the generosity of wild horse champions like you. Will you chip in a contribution to help us recharge our Observation Fund as we prepare for the summer roundup season? FUEL OUR OBSERVATION FUND The first roundup after the foaling season will take place at North Lander in Wyoming, where 2,806 wild horses are targeted for capture, and 2,766 will be permanently removed. This will be one of the largest roundups of the fiscal year. It’s vital that our roundup observers are present at this operation and the many more that will follow so that we can tell the stories of our beloved wild horses and burros and fuel change. Take, for example, this inspiring excerpt from a report by our observer at the 2022 South Steens roundup: "The bay mare was determined to save the life of her foal and she charged under the chopper as the pair raced back up the outside of the trap wings with the chopper hot on their heels. They raced into the wings and we thought that they were done. But the desperate mare raced on towards the ridgeline, her foal like a shadow at her side. As the chopper came close to them they finally ...

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: In this week’s edition of enews, we have several updates for you. First, there's a way for you to speak up for our wild herds by urging your representatives to support pro-wild horse language in the 2025 Fiscal Year spending bill. Additionally, we have a concerning update about a Nevada holding facility and a heartwarming story from Nevada’s Virginia Range. Take Action Now to Support Pro-Wild Horse Language in the FY25 Spending Bill Photo by Tandin Chapman We need your help today to ask the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies to protect wild horses and burros! Right now, Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and David Schweikert (R-AZ) are circulating a sign-on letter urging the Appropriations Committee to support pro-wild horse language in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations legislation. This language urges the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to invest in humane, in-the-wild conservation initiatives such as fertility control programs. It also urges the agency to study humane alternatives to the use of helicopters, stop cash incentive payments, and more! TAKE ACTION A Look Inside BLM Holding Facilities: FOIA Reveals 11% of Population Dies in One Year AWHC’s investigations team regularly files Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to promote transparency and accountability within government wild horse and burro programs. Recently, we received a shocking FOIA back that revealed 267 wild horses died at a Nevada holding facility in just one year.  Read on for an in-depth look at our findings. READ THE BLOG Meet Trident, PJ, Sherwin, and Paulo: The Four Brothers of The Virginia Range Photo by Deb Sutherland AWHC volunteer Deb Sutherland has been documenting the wild horses of Nevada’s Virginia Range for years. As a result, she has watched many of them grow up, and find families of their own. This is the case with four brothers Trident, PJ, Sherwin, and Paulo. Read on for their stories! MEET THE BROTHERS Thanks for reading. And thank you for continuing to stand up for our cherished wild horses and burros! — Team AWHC ...

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: On March 25, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its 2024 wild horse and burro population census numbers, estimating that 73,520 wild horses and burros remain free in the wild compared to the estimated 82,883 last year. Using these numbers, the BLM is doubling down on its mass roundup plans, targeting 20,000 wild horses and burros for capture and removal from the wild this year. The agency’s ultimate goal is to drive the population down to fewer than 27,000 animals – the number that existed in 1971 when Congress protected them unanimously because they were “fast disappearing.” Over the past three years, the BLM  has spent $401 million rounding up 50,000 wild horses and burros, with the captive population now exceeding 64,000 and set to rise to over 80,000 this year –meaning that, for the first time in history, the number of wild horses in confinement will exceed the number that remain free on the range! This waste of taxpayer funds and animal lives serves one purpose: to prioritize commercial livestock grazing on public lands over conservation of our federally protected wild horses and burros. We believe in a better way. At American Wild Horse Conservation, we're fighting to reform the BLM's inhumane practices and offer humane and sustainable conservation solutions. We're acquiring habitat through our Land Trust, fostering public-private partnerships, and demonstrating the efficacy of humane fertility control as an alternative to costly and traumatic roundups. Recent peer-reviewed science affirms the success of our Virginia Range fertility control program in Nevada and its feasibility in managing a large wild horse population in an expansive habitat area. We're also working with Congress to enact stronger legislation that compels the BLM to prioritize fertility control and prevents the agency from ignoring Congressional directives as it has done in past years. And we’re raising awareness to counter the influence of the powerful livestock lobbying groups that relentlessly demand more roundups. By harnessing the power of the people, we can ensure that the voices of the 80% of Americans who want to protect our iconic wild horses and burros are heard. Join us in safeguarding the future of our magnificent wild herds. Our commitment to their freedom is unwavering. Will you stand with us? ...