Concern Raised Over Bait-and-Trap Wild Horse Roundup in Northwest Colorado, Renews Calls for On Range Horse Management

Concern Raised Over Bait-and-Trap Wild Horse Roundup in Northwest Colorado, Renews Calls for On Range Horse Management

40 Wild Horses Expected To Be Removed from the Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area

(Craig, CO, July 7 ) — Today, as federal officials move forward with a bait-and-trap roundup expected to remove approximately 40 wild horses from public lands outside Craig in northwest Colorado, American Wild Horse Conservation, along with wild horse advocates, are urging a shift toward more humane, science-based management practices. 

The bait-and-trap roundup, beginning today, is a continuation of a roundup that started last September 2024. (The Bureau of Land Management’s original plan was to remove 50 horses as part of the Sept 2024 roundup; 10 were removed last year so the goal is now 40.) 

“This may be a small roundup, but for the 40 horses, the impact is permanently devastating,” said AWHC’s Executive Director Suzanne Roy. “There are other ways to manage Colorado’s wild herds that protect the wild spirit of the state and the iconic animals that roam there.” 

AWHC stresses that while this operation is limited in scope compared to large-scale helicopter roundups, the impact on the tightly bonded herd structure, potential physical or emotional injury, and the broader wild ecosystem, remains significant. AWHC also urges the BLM to work collaboratively with local organizations to place the captured horses in forever homes rather than  languishing in government holdings. 

The Sand Wash Basin bait-and-trap comes after Colorado has taken purposeful efforts to create a new model for collaborative wild horse management. In recent years, state lawmakers and the Governor have passed new laws to protect how wild horses are treated. House Bill 25-1283,  Wild Horse Project Management & Immunocontraception, and the Colorado Wild Horse Project, SB23-275, grant the state permission to invest in funding and resources to support fertility control efforts, including an 8-strong professional darting team.

“Colorado has a chance to lead with both compassion and courage,” said House Majority Leader Monica Duran, sponsor of the legislation. “We’re not here to point fingers, we’re here to call for something better. A path forward that respects the wild spirit of these horses and stops the trauma of mass roundups. These are not just numbers or policy points, they are living, breathing beings who deserve dignity.

“When wild horses are torn from their families and placed in government holding pens, too many never make it out, their freedom gone, and their fate uncertain. As someone who has always fought for the voiceless, I can’t turn away from this. We owe it to these animals, and to future generations, to find a more humane, sustainable way. Fertility control gives us that option that's rooted in science, guided by compassion, and driven by our values.”

By focusing on fertility control, wild horses can live and thrive in their wild habitats and the government can decrease reliance on cruel and costly management methods, like helicopter roundups. The need has never been more urgent. 

The President's proposed current FY26 budget cuts BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program budget by over 25%—from $143 million to $100 million. With 62,000 wild horses and burros already in confinement, the reduced budget would be almost entirely consumed by holding costs, leaving nothing for humane on-range management. It also omits the long-standing prohibition on the destruction of healthy wild horses and burros and their sale for commercial slaughter. This means that any new wild horse that gets captured and removed from its on-range herd area, could face an extremely negative outcome, if the budget proposal  is adopted by Congress.

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‍American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) is the nation’s leading nonprofit wild horse conservation organization, with more than 700,000 supporters and followers nationwide. AWHC is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse and burros in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. In addition to advocating for the protection and preservation of America’s wild herds, AWHC implements the largest wild horse fertility control program in the world through a partnership with the State of Nevada for wild horses that live in the Virginia Range near Reno.