AWHC Applauds Polis, Neguse Call for Immediate Halt to Wild Horse Helicopter Roundups

Call comes days before Sand Wash Basin roundup and in wake of New York Times investigation exposing wild horses entering the slaughter pipeline

WASHINGTON, D.C. — September 3, 2026 — American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) today applauded Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) and members of Colorado’s congressional delegation for calling on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to immediately halt upcoming helicopter roundups of wild horses, including a major roundup scheduled to begin next week at Colorado’s renowned Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area.

The urgent request comes as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) prepares to remove more than 60 percent of the Sand Wash Basin herd, following another Colorado helicopter roundup that ended August 31 after 894 wild horses were captured and nine died.

It also comes just two weeks after a New York Times investigation exposed serious failures in BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, documenting how federally protected wild horses sold through the agency’s Sale Authority program were acquired by dealers who shipped horses to slaughter in Mexico and Canada. Much of the documentation underlying the investigation was obtained by AWHC through Freedom of Information Act requests and other investigative work.

Together, the impending Sand Wash Basin roundup and the findings of the New York Times investigation underscore a fundamental problem with the federal government’s removal-based approach to wild horse management: BLM continues spending millions of taxpayer dollars to chase wild horses from public lands with helicopters, funnel them into an already overburdened holding system, and ultimately place some into sales that can put them at risk of slaughter.

“This is exactly why the federal government needs to stop and fundamentally rethink what it is doing,” said Patricia Miller, Executive Director of American Wild Horse Conservation. “Next week, BLM plans to send helicopters into Sand Wash Basin and remove a majority of its wild horses, even as deeply disturbing evidence has emerged about what can happen to horses after they are removed from the range. Governor Polis and Congressman Neguse are right to demand an immediate freeze. Secretary Burgum should grant it before another roundup begins.”

In their letter to Burgum and BLM Deputy Director Bill Heinlein, Polis and Neguse called helicopter roundups “inhumane and unnecessary” and requested an “immediate freeze on upcoming roundups.” The letter was also signed by Colorado Reps. Brittany Pettersen, Dianna DeGette and Jason Crow.

The Colorado leaders specifically pointed to the upcoming Sand Wash Basin roundup, which is scheduled to begin next week and would reduce the herd by more than 60 percent. Sand Wash Basin is one of Colorado’s best-known wild horse herds and has benefited from years of community involvement and fertility control efforts aimed at managing its population humanely on the range.

The lawmakers also cited the recent Piceance-East Douglas roundup. The larger Piceance-East Douglas/West Douglas operation concluded August 31 after BLM gathered 894 wild horses and reported nine deaths.

The letter challenges BLM to provide evidence demonstrating that helicopter roundups are more effective than humane alternatives and calls for greater investment in fertility control and other nonlethal management tools.

For AWHC, the growing controversy underscores the urgent need for reform at both ends of the federal program. The administration must stop feeding thousands more wild horses into an already costly and overburdened removal and holding system, while Congress must close the legal avenues that can allow federally protected horses to enter the slaughter pipeline.

“Americans were promised that these animals would be protected on our public lands,” Miller said. “Instead, we are spending taxpayer dollars to remove them by helicopter, hundreds of millions more to confine them in government holding facilities, and operating a sales program that has allowed federally protected horses to end up in the slaughter pipeline. We can and must do better.”

AWHC is calling on Secretary Burgum to immediately suspend the Sand Wash Basin roundup and other planned helicopter removals and direct BLM to replace mass removals with humane, science-based management on the range, including robust use of proven fertility control vaccines.

AWHC is also urging Congress to pass the SAFE Act, which would permanently prohibit the slaughter of American horses for human consumption and their export for slaughter abroad.

About American Wild Horse Conservation

American Wild Horse Conservation is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting America’s wild horses and burros and preserving their freedom on Western public lands. AWHC works through advocacy, litigation, scientific research and implementation of humane fertility control programs to reform federal wild horse and burro management and replace costly removals with humane, sustainable on-range solutions.