House Appropriations Committee Passes Legislation to Protect America’s Wild Horses and burros

House Appropriations Committee Passes Legislation to Protect America’s Wild Horses and burros  

Final language rejects Trump Admin proposal for slaughter, budget cuts, horse transfers to foreign governments, and directs BLM to spend $11 million on fertility management

(WASHINGTON D.C., JULY 22 2025)  – American Wild Horse Conservation applauds the Representatives Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) for their strong leadership on the House Appropriations Committee, which today advanced strong pro-wild horse provisions in Fiscal Year 2026 Interior Department funding legislation. The committee drew a firm line against wild horse slaughter, and allocated $11 million to prioritize humane management strategies. 

The Committee rejected key provisions in the President’s FY26 budget request, which notably failed to include longstanding prohibitions on lethal management and commercial slaughter of federally protected wild horses and burros. This omission signaled a potentially dangerous shift in federal policy and sparked widespread public opposition. The administration’s budget proposal would have also cut the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program budget by 25 percent, and allowed for the large-scale transfer of wild horses and burros to foreign countries such as Canada and Mexico, where horse slaughter facilities continue to operate.

Instead, the Committee preserved critical protections against slaughter and backdoor sales and directed the BLM to invest $11 million in humane fertility control, prioritizing in-the-wild fertility control, a proven alternative to costly and cruel helicopter roundups. Notably, the Committee strengthened this provision by removing language from previous bills that allowed the BLM to spend “up to” $11 million but that did not require it to spend anything.  Now it requires BLM to spend the full $11 million on humane population management.

“This is a major win for the American public, which has overwhelmingly demanded more humane treatment for our iconic wild horses and burros,” said Suzanne Roy, Executive Director of American Wild Horse Conservation. “The House Appropriations Committee, led by the steadfast efforts of Representatives Ciscomani and Pocan, has once again stepped up to reject slaughter and direct real investment in fertility control. Now it’s time for the BLM to follow through and make humane management—not removals—the foundation of its program.”

The bill now moves to the full House for consideration. At the same time, the Senate appropriations committee will be having its markup on July 24th, 2025.

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About American Wild Horse Conservation

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.