America’s Wild Horses in Peril: Thousands Are About to Lose Their Freedom in B.L.M Roundups

THINK

May 4

Starting in July, over 7,000 wild horses freely roaming across public lands in the United States will be captured by the Bureau of Land Management, igniting urgent concerns for the future and survival of these native animals.

Starting in July, over 7,000 wild horses freely roaming across public lands in the United States will be captured by the Bureau of Land Management (B.L.M.), leading to the permanent removal of 5,857 mustangs from their natural habitat.

The upcoming operation follows the aggressive roundups of 2022, where the B.L.M. used helicopters and horseback riders to capture around 21,000 wild horses and burros - this figure was nearly twice the amount seized in the highest previous year of capture in 2012.

As a result, over 60,000 wild horses and burros are currently living in the B.L.M.’s overcrowded holding facilities. July’s roundups will see thousands more confined in these centers where they are in danger of deadly disease outbreaks.

These facilities cannot keep pace with the B.L.M.’s increasing captures and have been associated with mass preventable deaths and widespread animal welfare violations such as inadequate vaccinations, insufficient access to hay, and understaffing, according to Animal Welfare Institute (AWI). In April 2022, 145 horses being held in a B.L.M. facility in Colorado died from a typically preventable equine flu due to a lack of proper vaccinations. A report compiled by B.L.M. officials and a veterinarian with the U.S. Department of Agriculture found B.L.M.’s policy violations contributed to the deadly outbreak.

“It’s not as if 60,000 mustangs and burros walked up and let themselves into B.L.M. holding facilities,” said Suzanne Roy, executive director for American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC). “The B.L.M. has created this crisis by catering to private interests, removing thousands more wild horses than could be placed into private care. It is now more important than ever that the B.L.M. utilize the readily available humane fertility control at a meaningful scale.”

The news of July’s roundup comes after the B.L.M. released its Wild Horse and Burro Gather and Fertility Control Schedule and Fiscal Year 2023 wild horse and burro population data, which indicates a slight rise in population numbers. However, the AWHC states that the B.L.M.'s estimation raises doubts, given not only the extensive removals that occurred last year but also the deaths resulting from the exceptionally severe winter experienced in the West.

“If taken at face value, the increase shows that the agency’s inhumane wild horse roundups have failed to even create short-term progress toward achieving its population goals,” continued Roy. “Meanwhile, it has created a long-term fiscal crisis by rounding up more than 20,000 animals, skyrocketing the captive holding population to all-time highs.”

The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act federally protects wild horses and burros inhabiting public lands in 10 western states, mandating that the animals “are to be considered … as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands,” and as such, they “shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death.” But the law has been significantly weakened by amendments over the years.

In the final Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriations omnibus, an essential bipartisan measure aimed at protecting wild horses was included by Congress. This measure mandates that the BLM's Program allocate up to $11 million for reversible immunocontraceptive fertility control in FY23, with the goal of ensuring sustainable management of wild horses and burros.

However, despite this clear directive, the BLM's plan only encompasses implementing fertility control measures on a meager 1,575 animals. The AWHC highlights that the agency allocated over $100 million of taxpayer funds in the previous year to round up wild horses from public lands and confine them in holding facilities, while only a fraction of that amount was dedicated to humane fertility control for managing herds in their natural habitat.

“Ten years ago, scientific experts told the agency that there is a better way to manage wild horses and it's beyond time for the BLM to implement humane fertility control at the scale necessary to stabilize populations over the long term as an alternative to the current costly and cruel roundup approach,” concluded Roy. “We remain hopeful that the BLM will soon increase its treatment goals as awards are made under last year’s fertility control grant opportunity.”

Animal Agriculture’s Impact

Investigations have uncovered that one significant factor behind the roundups of wild horses is the presence of private cattle and sheep ranchers who hold livestock permits for the same public lands where these horses are meant to roam freely.

In a specific case involving the Sand Wash Basin in northwestern Colorado, nearly 700 horses were rounded up and relocated to holding facilities, where they would spend the rest of their lives in captivity. During this time, the BLM cited resource constraints as the reason for the removal of the horses. However, a mere two months later, CBS4 Investigates discovered that over 2,000 domestic sheep were grazing on the exact same land.

According to wildlife biologist Erik Molvar, livestock grazing consumes a significant portion, ranging from 50 to 65 percent, of the annual forage production. This leaves less than half of the resources available for wild horses, as well as other wildlife such as elk, mule deer, sage grouse, grasshoppers, and jackrabbits. Moreover, it is crucial to ensure enough growth for the grass plants to survive until the following year, but due to the chronic authorization of livestock grazing by the Bureau of Land Management, overgrazing becomes an undeniable issue.

What’s the solution?

Birth Control

According to the AWHC, the Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) vaccine offers a safe, humane, and effective alternative to the current approach of traumatic roundups for managing wild horses. This fertility-control vaccine is administered to female horses on the range through remote darting. PZP has a solid scientific foundation, with over three decades of successful use, and is endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as a suitable method for federally protected wild horse herds. Apart from its positive impact on the animals, the use of birth control is also significantly more cost-effective, with each dose priced at just $30 compared to the hefty expense of $1,600 to house each captured animal.

Legislative Reforms

Molvar believes that the BLM's wild horse and burro program is a blatant deception imposed on American taxpayers. He criticized it as a considerable burden on federal resources, with minimal returns for the damage inflicted on western public lands due to increased livestock presence.

In the quest for change, Molvar advocates for legislative reforms that would grant environmentalists the opportunity to purchase grazing permits, leading to a significant reduction in livestock grazing activities.

He emphasizes that livestock grazing has emerged as one of the most severe ecological impacts on western public lands across the vast majority of territories and believes that enacting legislation allowing voluntary buyouts of grazing permits, followed by their permanent retirement, is crucial. This approach would enable conservation-minded buyers to acquire these permits, ensuring long-term ecological rebound by removing cattle and sheep from the lands for extended periods.

Take Action

Move to a plant-based food system: Choosing plant-based food instead of animal-based products is one of the most powerful things you can do to help protect the lands where wild horses should be roaming free. Sign up for the Species Unite 7-Day Vegan Challenge to help you get started.

Sign the petition: Please join us in urging Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to stop these roundups and find sustainable solutions to save these treasured and legally protected animals. You can sign the petition here.

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