With regard to the rising cost of managing the U.S. wild horse and burro populations, President Trump’s 2018 budget included a proposed solution: “humane euthanasia and unrestricted sale of certain excess animals.”

July 6, 2019 Boise, Idaho (USA): According to U.S. Bureau of Land Management Acting Director Casey Hammond speaking to the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board on July 6, 2019, the Trump administration will no longer pursue lethal measures such as euthanasia or selling horses for slaughter

Federal officials say that nearly 90,000 wild horses in 10 Western states are triple appropriate levels with nearly 18,000 foals born annually. Currently there are more than 50,000 captured wild horses held in corrals at a cost of $50 million a year.

Adopted wild mustang.
Photo Credit: BLM/Wikimedia Commons

The Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board is preparing a report requested by Congress. The report shall include recommendations for the BLM and U.S. Forest Service regarding management of wild horses and burros upon which federal agencies may accept or reject its suggestions. Ideas under consideration include new sterilization methods, aggressive adoption efforts and doubling the number of captive horses.

The federal government has managed the wild horse population since the passage of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971. Prior to ratification wild horses were regular rounded up for slaughter raising concerns of inhumane treatment and possible extinction.
For more information on the Advisory Board’s latest meeting, June 6, 2019, visit the Federal Register.

For more information on the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program which provides $1000 to anyone who adopts a wild horse or burro – READ NOW.

Photography Courtesy: Jaime Jackson (feature image) and the Bureau of Land Management/Wikimedia Commons