Wild Horses in Government Warehouses Reach All-Time High
Wild Horses in Government Warehouses Reach All-Time High
A recent Bureau of Land Management (BLM) report reveals that the number of wild horses stockpiled in government holding facilities has reached an all-time high, a national wild horse preservation coalition announced today. The report indicates that 49,369 wild horses and 1,348 wild burros are currently warehoused by the government, marking a 63 percent increase since 2009. In contrast, only 31,500 wild horses and 5,800 burros remain free in the wild.
The Crisis of Stockpiling
“The BLM is forcing a crisis by stockpiling over 50,000 wild horses in holding facilities while pursuing the same failed management strategies,” said Neda DeMayo, founder of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign) and president of its parent organization, Return to Freedom. “The tragedy is that humane and cost-effective solutions like birth control exist to keep wild horses wild, but the BLM is not utilizing them. Meanwhile, the agency is turning to surgical sterilization, which will further destroy our wild herds.”
The stockpiling of wild horses in holding facilities costs American taxpayers more than $120,000 per day. The problem arises because the BLM continues to round up and remove wild horses from the range in numbers that far exceed adoption demand. In the last four years, the BLM has rounded up and removed 36,989 wild horses and burros from the range and adopted out just 11,354.
Budget Priorities and Management Strategies
The BLM’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget request continues the agency’s practice of spending nearly 70 percent of the wild horse program budget on roundups, removals, and stockpiling horses, while less than 4 percent is allocated to in-the-wild management, including fertility control, to keep wild horses on the range.
"Three out of five wild horses are stockpiled in government pens and pastures right now,” said Suzanne Roy, director of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign). “The BLM is running out of money and space, which can only mean that wild horses are running out of time. What’s needed is intervention and leadership from the top.”
Call to Action
The American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) is collecting signatures on an open letter to the new Interior Secretary, Sally Jewell, urging her to assume a leadership role. Allies from Capitol Hill to Hollywood have begun to reach out about participating, while over 10,000 people have already signed on at www.StepInSally.com.
The open letter specifically asks Secretary Jewell to follow through on a pledge she made during her confirmation process to Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) to work with him to "pursue effective and ecologically sustainable policies" for the BLM's program.