Years of aggressive roundups by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have led to over 66,000 wild horses and burros warehoused in government holding facilities.
And now, for the first time, more wild horses and burros are held in captivity than remain free on taxpayer funded public lands allocated to them by law!
The reality will be that the cost to feed and keep the horses in the holding locations will increase, especially in the current time of economic upheaval.
What is the likely result of the cost increase? A much higher risk is that Congress will legalize “management” options such as the mass killing of the horses and burros as a cost-cutting strategy. A strategy fought against by advocates for years!
The grim reality would result in tens of thousands of wild horses and burros being brutally killed off while the BLM continues with cruel, costly and unnecessary roundups with never an end in sight.
Other dangers loom on the horizon for wild horses and burros as groups like the Heritage Foundation and PERC (Property & Environment Research Center) are pushing hard for privatization and state control of public lands.
The level of hatred in Western states where wild horses and burros roam freely has existed for decades coming from livestock groups, oil & gas, mining and other profiteering interests. Their lobbyists work ceaselessly on legislators to eliminate these treasured icons of the West.
Handing control over to the states would eliminate what few federal protections remain under the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
The Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” explicitly calls for weakening wildlife protection laws and giving the BLM authorization to “dispose” of wild horses and burros.
Well over 80% of Americans support full wild horse and burros protections! Advocates must stand firm and speak up loudly and often on behalf of the wild ones.
Keep in touch with your Congressional representatives via www.house.gov and www.senate.gov!