54 years ago this week, Congress passed the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, landmark legislation which outlined federal protection for America’s wild horse and burro herds on the nation’s public lands.
It came about due to a massive grassroots movement where millions of Americans believed that our wild horses deserve to live freely and with protection on taxpayer funded public lands.
The “Wild Horse Act” came about because one courageous woman refused to stay silent as did others about the atrocities happening to these iconic animals. With true grit and persistence, wild horse advocates developed a massive grassroots campaign where millions of Americans, including school children, rallied for the wild ones.
Velma “Wild Horse Annie” Johnston had witnessed the brutal capture and slaughter of Nevada’s wild horses in the 1950s. From that time forward, she pushed back tirelessly and was behind the organizing of the nationwide grassroots movement.
Part of the campaign included mobilizing school children across the country to write letters on behalf of the wild horses and burros. The issue of wild horse and burro protections generated more letters to Congress than any issue during the 1960s/early 1970s (except for the Vietnam War).
“Annie’s” work galvanized the country and ultimately led to the unanimous passage of the Wild Free Roaming Horses & Burros Act of 1971.
Now, 54 years later, the protections she fought for are in dire jeopardy.
For decades, special wealthy and powerful interests have weakened core protections with numerous amendments to the initial legislation.
Cruel and often deadly helicopter roundups continue to remove thousands of horses annually.
Today, over 62,000 wild horses and burros are now trapped in government controlled holding facilities — more than remain in the wild. More herds face shrinking habitats, decreased and fragmented ranges to live and graze upon, and increased political pressure to systematically eliminate them.
Fortunately, there are still members of Congress today who have joined the fight to keep America’s wild horses and burros protected.
In May, Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-1), a longtime advocate for wild horses, announced the formation of the Congressional Wild Horse Caucus to encourage federal policies for more humane treatment of wild horses and burros.
“Nevada is home to more than 30,000 wild horses and burros – more than half of all the wild horses and burros in the United States,” said Congresswoman Titus. “These icons of the American West deserve to be treated humanely, and the bipartisan Wild Horse Caucus can lay the groundwork for better management of these herds by the Bureau of Land Management.”
Congresswoman Titus also introduced legislation to eliminate the often harmful and fatal use of helicopters in BLM wild horse roundups. And she proposed using fertility control as a more humane and less expensive means to control wild horse populations.
“I am hopeful that the Wild Horse Caucus will raise awareness in Congress that there are better ways to manage wild horses and burros,” said Congresswoman Titus. “Protecting these animals from harm should be an issue we can all agree upon.”
Joining Congresswoman Titus as co-chairs of the bipartisan caucus are Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-1), Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-9), and Rep. Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6).