Senate Moves Towards Better Management of America’s Wild Horses and Burros
Return to Freedom Applauds Senate Committee for Including Humane Management Language
This week, the Senate Interior Appropriations Committee has been praised by Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation for taking a significant step towards improving the management of America’s wild horses and burros.
Return to Freedom (RTF), a national nonprofit advocacy organization, has been working diligently with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to urge the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to implement safe, proven, and humane fertility control measures for these animals.
The organization also collaborates with a diverse group of public lands stakeholders to foster broader acceptance of fertility control use. If implemented correctly and robustly, fertility control could slow the growth of wild herds, allowing them to stay in their natural habitats instead of facing costly and traumatic capture, removal, and warehousing.
RTF President Expresses Gratitude and Advocacy Efforts
Neda DeMayo, president of RTF, expressed her gratitude to the Senate for their continued support in protecting wild horses. She commended the Senate Committee for explicitly directing the Bureau of Land Management to adopt thoughtful management practices that align with the humane approaches tirelessly advocated by Return to Freedom.
Senate Committee Calls for Robust and Humane Fertility Control Strategy
The guiding report language from the Senate Committee calls for an allocation of $11 million to support the implementation of a robust and humane fertility control strategy that includes reversible immunocontraceptive vaccines.
The report emphasizes specific areas of focus for the BLM, urging them to increase the use of fertility control with measurable objectives to reduce population growth, target removals from ecologically impacted and densely populated regions, expand long-term, off-range humane holding, and continue adoptions while enforcing existing safeguards.
House Approves Funding for Wild Horse Management with Differences
In contrast, the House Interior Appropriations Committee, on June 19, approved $155 million for wild horse management in 2024.
The House, like the Senate, allocated $11 million for fertility control; however, it did not exclusively designate the funding for immediate on-range implementation.
The House allows the utilization of funds for research, including permanent sterilization, a measure that RTF firmly opposes.
Reconciliation and Advocacy for Stricter Protections
Now, the House and Senate must reconcile their differences in funding and approach. Return to Freedom is urging the House and Senate conferees to adopt the House’s funding level while incorporating the Senate’s guiding report language.
The organization remains committed to advocating for stricter protections for wild horses and burros and increased funding until the final bill is approved later this year.
Background – The Challenge of Wild Horse Management
For years, the Bureau of Land Management has primarily relied on capture-and-removal methods, postponing the implementation of fertility control measures, while also failing to meet the agency’s own population targets for wild horses.
For instance, in FY 2022, the Bureau of Land Management removed 20,193 wild horses and burros from their natural habitats, while releasing only 1,622 mares after administering some form of fertility control.
Presently, out of the estimated 141,000 federally protected wild horses and burros overseen by the BLM, a staggering 58,000 reside not on the range but in overcrowded government corrals or on leased pastures.
The off-range holding of captured wild horses now costs taxpayers more than $83 million annually, leaving limited funds for critical range management, restoration efforts, personnel, administration, and fertility control.
Population Modeling Provides Hope for Sustainable Management
Population modeling conducted by Return to Freedom and other stakeholders has demonstrated that immediate implementation of fertility control, alongside any removals carried out by the BLM, is the key to catching up with and stabilizing herd growth.
This approach is essential to ensure that on-range management can replace removals and achieve a sustainable solution for wild horse and burro populations.
About Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation
Established in 1998, Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving wild horses through sanctuary, education, conservation, and advocacy.
The organization operates the American Wild Horse Sanctuary at three locations in California, caring for more than 450 wild horses and burros while effectively managing their population through fertility control since 1999.
Sources: THX News & Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation.
