Eyewitness Report: BLM Adoption Event in Wolcott, Connecticut

By Mary Koncel, Program Specialist

On April 8th and 9th, 2022, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) hosted an adoption and sales event at the Hillside Equestrian Center in Wolcott, Connecticut. This event aimed to find homes for wild horses and burros, offering them for adoption under the Adoption Incentive Program (AIP).

Although theBLMadvertised that approximately 75 wild horses and burros would be available, only 64 horses were offered for adoption. All were eligible for the AIP, but many adopters did not enroll. Ten horses were picked up after being adopted earlier through an online auction. The standard adoption fee was $125.

All horses were removed from their Herd Management Areas via helicopterroundups, primarily from Nevada and Utah, with some from Idaho and Wyoming. About one-third were weanlings, while others ranged from 2 to 12 years old.

The majority of the horses had good body condition scores. However, many weanlings were muddy, with tangled coats and manes. One weanling had an injured eye, which was being treated by a veterinarian. She was to be returned to the Ewing Wild Horse and Burro Off-Range Corral in Ewing, IL for further care.

Unlike some recentBLMevents, such as the one inOkeechobee, Florida, the loading of horses onto trailers was uneventful.BLMpersonnel were experienced and patient, and the loading chute was well-designed.

TheBLMreported that 47 of the 64 horses were adopted. Horses not adopted will return to the Ewing corrals for future adoption opportunities. Under theBLM's “Three-Strike” rule, if a horse is unsuccessfully offered for adoption three times, it becomes a “Three-Strike Horse” and is available for sale for $25, with no follow-up compliance check, increasing the risk of ending up in a kill pen.

According toAWHC’s ongoing investigationinto the AIP, adoption does not guarantee a happy home. The AIP offers $1,000 to adopt an untamedBLMwild horse or burro, but many end up in slaughter auctions after adopters receive incentive payments.

TheBLMhas made changes to its AIP, such as conducting compliance checks six months post-adoption instead of one year, butAWHC maintains these changes are insufficientto protect wild horses and burros from the slaughter pipeline.

In FY 2021, theBLMrounded up 13,666 wild horses and burros. In FY 2022, the target is 20,095, with most not being adopted.