Fighting against the lies that make wild horses and burros scapegoats is critical. Below are some answers to common misperceptions put out by those opposed to wild horses (and burros) living freely and protected by law on America’s taxpayer funded public lands.
Is there a wild horse and burro overpopulation? No, it’s not true that wild horses and burros are overpopulated. The truth is that the only animals overtaking the Western public lands are privately owned cattle and sheep permitted to overgraze the land. In fact, wild horses are found on just 27 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) controlled land in the West. Meanwhile, private livestock are grazing on over 155 million acres. And wild horses are not present on 88% of the public lands which fall under the BLM’s management!
Are wild horses native? Wild horses are a native re-introduced species. Research of fossil records and genetic results have confirmed that horses were part of the North American fauna for hundreds of thousands of years prior to their extinction on the continent (approximately 11,000 years ago). The genetic connection between extinct North American and today’s domestic horses means that wild horses in the West share a good portion of their DNA and evolutionary history with their ancestors. It is also known that Indigenous oral histories suggest horses never dwindled into extinction in North America.
Are the wild horses and burros responsible for overgrazing on public lands? No, the primary reason for land degradation in the West is livestock grazing. In fact, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) did a study which found that livestock outnumber wild horses and burros on public lands by 30:1, and that livestock grazing is the reason 72% of rangelands did not meet required Land Health Standards.
Why are there roundups? Roundups result from over 50 years of federal mismanagement by the Bureau of Land Management which gives priority to private and profit making interests which use public lands and scapegoats our federally protected mustangs and burros. Their excuses include maintaining improper (non-viable) population limits, using cruel and costly helicopter roundups, and unfairly allocating more resources to private (and corporate owned) livestock than to the wild horses and burros.
Why must the wild horses and burros be managed instead of left alone? Wild horses and burrows live on lands which are shared by various interests such as livestock grazing and other extractive uses (oil, gas, mining). Too often, natural predators like mountain lions have been wiped out by hunters as well as a government program that kills predators to benefit ranchers. Because of these man-made and artificial conditions, some sort of management has become necessary. However, the BLM’s roundup and removal approach is inhumane, unsustainable, overly aggressive, and has driven its Wild Horse and Burro program close to fiscal collapse.
Do wild horses and burros end up in the slaughter pipeline? Sadly, yes. While the BLM cannot sell wild horses or burros directly to slaughter, countless wild horses are being funneled into the slaughter pipeline. One way is via the BLM’s disastrous “Adoption Incentive Program” (AIP), which pays individuals $1,000 per animal to adopt unhandled horses and burros. An investigation by the American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) into the AIP has shown that people routinely adopt the mustangs and burros, then keep the cash incentive while dumping the horses and burros directly into the slaughter pipeline.