Bids Sought for New Wild Horse Corrals

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is actively seeking bids for new short-term holding facilities for wild horses removed from Western rangelands. This initiative is part of an ongoing effort to manage what theBLMdescribes as overpopulated herds. The move comes amid increasing pressure from Western ranchers and recommendations from experts for alternative management strategies.

After removing horses from the range, theBLMplaces them in these facilities until they are either adopted or relocated to government-funded pastures in the Midwest, where they spend the remainder of their lives.

BLMofficials have announced plans to open multiple new short-term corrals, each capable of holding at least 200mustangs. This decision follows growing demands from ranchers who argue that wild horses threaten livestock and wildlife on drought-affected rangelands.

Suzanne Roy, director of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation), criticized theBLM's plans, noting that the agency already warehouses moremustangsoff the range than remain free in the West. She also expressed concerns about the planned removal of horses from Iron and Beaver counties in Utah later this year.

Roy highlighted that these removals contradict recommendations from an independent panel of the National Academy of Sciences. The panel's report, released last June, advised theBLMto invest in widespread fertility control of themustangsinstead of spending millions on housing them. It concluded that the removal of nearly 100,000 horses from the Western range over the past decade might be counterproductive, potentially exacerbating ecological damage and herd overpopulation.

Additionally, theBLMhas extended the application deadline to May 28 for research proposals aimed at controlling the population growth of horses and burros roaming the West. Roy emphasized the need for the agency to implement availablefertility controlmethods as identified by the National Academy of Sciences panel.

Originally Posted By Associated Press