Helicopter Roundups of America's Wild Horses Could Be Banned
The Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act will prohibit the Bureau of Land Management’s controversial helicopter roundups of wild horses.
Credit: AWHC
A bill to prohibit the controversial helicopter roundups of wild horses was reintroduced on Wednesday, a move applauded by animal activists who have long fought for stronger protections for the nation's wild horses and burros.
Reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Dina Titus (D-NV), David Schweikert (R-AZ), and Steve Cohen (D-TN), the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act would require the US Governmental Accountability Office to submit a report to Congress that provides an accounting of the impact of aircraft chases on wild horses and burros.
Across the Western states, the Bureau of Land Management (B.L.M.) seize the federally protected wild horses from their natural habitat using low-flying helicopters to chase the animals into trap pens. These methods often result in serious injuries, and often death, for the horses, according to the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC).
During these roundups horses are often separated from their family groups, many foals die from exhaustion, and other horses are injured and euthanized on-site. This legislation was originally introduced in February 2022, after a horrific incident in Nevada where a colt broke his leg while being relentlessly chased by a helicopter; footage showed the panicked young horse struggling to continue running. Eventually, after half an hour, the animal was euthanized.
Of the horses that do survive the roundups, some are put up for adoption, but the vast majority are either sent to slaughter or kept in barren holding facilities for the rest of their lives. There are currently more than 60,000 wild horses and burros living in the B.L.M.’s overcrowded long-term holding facilities around the country.
“We applaud Congresswoman Titus, Congressman Schweikert, and Congressman Cohen for their leadership in protecting our nation’s wild horses,” said Dr. Joanna Grossman, equine program director and senior advisor for Animal Welfare Institute (AWI). “Reforms are long overdue to the Bureau of Land Management’s failed management approach, which involves stampeding panicked horses through helicopter roundups.
“These roundups are cruel, expensive, and ultimately ineffective at stabilizing populations. Wild equines deserve to be managed safely and humanely in their natural habitats for Americans to enjoy.”
These ‘counterproductive’ population control operations have also cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars over the last decade, according to the AWHC. Since fiscal year 2017, the BLM has spent more than $25 million in taxpayer dollars for helicopter roundups, according to federal records. The BLM states that the cost to roundup a horse from the range and warehouse the wild animal for life is up to $50,000
These holding 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 AWI.
In April 2022, 145 horses 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.
Credit: AWHC
“We are thankful to wild horse champions Congresswoman Titus, Congressman Cohen, and Congressman Schweikert for standing up for our nation’s wild horses and burros,” said Holly Gann Bice, AWHC’s director of government relations. “Roundups are inhumane and cost US taxpayers millions of dollars each year.
“Grounding these helicopters and utilizing more humane methods of managing wild horse populations on the range, such as fertility control vaccines, would go a long way toward protecting our wild horses and burros and saving tax dollars.”
The legislation comes after the B.L.M. announced that 7,000 wild horses will be captured in July, resulting in the permanent removal of 5,857 from public lands.
Nearly 8,000 Species Unite supporters have rallied together to urge Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to stop these roundups and find sustainable solutions. You can sign the petition here.
To learn more about the fight to save America's wild horses, listen to our podcast episode with Suzanne Roy, the Executive Director of the American Wild Horse Campaign.
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