Thousands of wild horses and burros are in danger of being killed at the hand of the same government agency -- the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) -- which has been mandated to protect them. When Congress unanimously passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act in 1971, these majestic mustangs were described as the "living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West." Now almost half of America's wild horses have been rounded up into holding pens, and they need your voice to dodge the BLM's bullet.  

 

Agency Created Crisis

 

Claiming budget constraints and a sluggish adoption market, the BLM recently announced they are considering killing wild horses as a solution to the rising cost of keeping the approximately 30,000 wild horses now living in long and short-term pens. Recent BLM management changes have led to round up and removal of wild equines from their home ranges at an unprecedented rate. The BLM ignored the warnings of horse advocates despite the clear lack of adequate adopters to provide them good homes, and are poised to make a decision regarding this issue in September 2008.

 

Congress Asks Questions

 

The announcement sent shockwaves through the halls of Congress, and Representative Nick J. Rahall III (D-WV), Chair or the Natural Resources Committee, responded, asking pointed questions of BLM's Deputy Director of Operations, Henri Bisson. In his July 9 letter, Rahall reminds Bisson that a history of BLM mismanagement of wild horse and burros on public lands had prompted his office to request a comprehensive review from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) more than a year ago and urges the agency to refrain from taking any action until this report, which is due in September, can be reviewed. "The potential for wholesale killing of thousands of healthy wild horses marks a complete turnaround in management policy," states Rahall, "[I]t has never been used in the history of this 37-year-old Act."

 

IDA Seeks Solutions

 

IDA implores the agency to explore non-lethal solutions, including contraception techniques and re-opening some of the 19 million acres of public land to wild horses that BLM has removed from their historic range. Other options may include cooperative agreements with ranchers and other public-land permit holders, offering incentives for land management that allows more horses to roam free.