Wild Horse and Burros Archives

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

In just hours, the calendar will turn — and 2026 will begin.

Before that happens, we want to pause and recognize what you helped make possible this year — and why the moment ahead matters so much.

In 2025, we won some historic legal victories. Together, we:

• Shut down the federal Adoption Incentive Program, a corrupt scheme that funneled wild horses and burros to slaughter;
• Won a major federal appeals court ruling in Wyoming, halting the largest attempted eradication of wild horses in U.S. history;
• And won critical Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, forcing the government to turn over thousands of pages of records that brought critical accountability and transparency to their wild horse and burro management program.

These wins weren’t symbolic — they were hard-fought and they saved lives.

But as we head into 2026, the pressure to remove wild horses from public lands is not slowing down — it’s intensifying. More roundups. More legal battles. More moments when someone has to be there.

That’s why we’re racing to raise $100,000 before midnight tonight — and why every donation is 2X matched. If you believe these victories must continue — and that wild horses deserve defenders as strong as the threats they face — please give before the year ends.

Freedom can’t wait — and neither can we.

— American Wild Horse Conservation

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

Right now, America’s wild horses and burros are facing unprecedented threats. They continue to be chased, trapped, and removed from the public lands across the American West that these innocent animals have called home for centuries.

Helicopters are driving families across miles of rugged terrain.
Foals are being pushed to exhaustion.
Burros are standing their ground in the face of danger — and paying the price for it.

And because of supporters like you, American Wild Horse Conservation is there to witness every. single. roundup. that takes place at the hands of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and its contractors.

As we continue to fight back in 2026, will you be there with us?

Here’s why we need you today:

In 2025, AWHC documented 100% of Bureau of Land Management wild horse and burro roundups — every helicopter, every trap.

Our observers are often the only independent witnesses on the range. Without them, these operations would happen out of public view, without accountability, and without evidence to challenge cruelty in court or in Congress.

Here’s why now matters:

Presence is irreplaceable.

You cannot expose abuse without seeing it.
You cannot challenge unlawful actions without documentation.
And you cannot protect wild horses from behind a desk.

As we head into 2026, the pressure to remove wild horses from public lands is intensifying. More roundups are planned. More families are at risk. More moments will demand that someone is there.

Here’s why you matter:

Your support keeps AWHC on the ground.

It supports the observer who documented Mesa and Dune.
It supports the footage used in federal court.
And it ensures that no roundup happens without witnesses.

With just hours left in the year, your 2X-Matched donation helps power our work and keep eyes on the range when it matters most. Will you join us with a donation before midnight?

Thank you for standing with wild horses,

AWHC Team

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

Before the noise came, the land was familiar. I knew where to step. I knew my baby, Dune would follow.

That morning, nothing felt different — until it was. On November 15, at our home in the Buffalo Hills of Nevada, helicopters chased our herd across the land we have always known.

Burros like us were not meant to be driven this way. Our instincts — to stop, to brace, to protect our young — make these chases more dangerous, not less.

As the helicopters came down, I kept Dune close — always just a few steps away. When the ground felt uncertain, I slowed for him. When he hesitated, I waited.

That is how burros survive. We do not scatter easily. We do not run blindly into danger. When we are afraid, we stop. We stand. We look for safety.

But on that day, nowhere was safe.

I stayed with Dune as long as I could. I placed myself between him and what was coming. I thought we might be free and safe when our family was taken away. But then, the helicopter returned — just for us.

Seven men surrounded us. Ropes flew.
I felt the pull.
I felt my baby fall beside me.

We were taken to a place with fences and noise. I don’t know where my family is now. I only know that we are not going back.

Humans have decided there is no place for burros here anymore. Their goal was to remove every single one of us. 33 of us were taken from Buffalo Hills, 4 did not survive.

An observer from American Wild Horse Conservation was watching that day. They saw what happened to us. They documented it — because without witnesses, no one would ever know our story.

Your support makes it possible for AWHC to be there — to stand watch, to tell the truth, and to fight for a future where families like mine are not torn apart by force.

Please, if you can, make a year-end donation to AWHC’s Observation Fund to help protect wild families like mine — before more are lost. Every donation made before tomorrow at midnight will be matched, going twice as far to power this critical work.

— Mesa

As witnessed by AWHC observers

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

We wanted to follow up quickly as our year-end campaign gets underway.

The reality is this: what happens next for America’s wild horses is being decided right now. And as we head into 2026, the pressure to remove horses from public lands isn’t slowing down — it’s accelerating.

That’s why we’ve set an urgent goal to raise $100,000 by December 31, with every gift matched to help power the fight ahead.

Your support makes it possible for AWHC to:

• Prove there’s a humane way to manage wild herds
• Hold the government accountable
• Defend wild horses through Congress, science, advocacy, and the courts

Freedom can’t wait — and neither can this moment. Please if you can, make a 2X-Matched tax-deductible donation to power our work before December 31st at midnight.

Thank you for standing with America’s wild horses,

The AWHC Team

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

This year, when wild horses needed protection, your support didn’t just help — it delivered.

Because donors like you stepped up, American Wild Horse Conservation was able to take concrete, on-the-ground action that protected wild horses when it mattered most.

Here’s exactly what your generosity made possible:

$20 gifts supplied safety vests for AWHC field observers — allowing our teams to safely document 100% of federal wild horse roundups this year. Every helicopter chase, every trap, every injury was witnessed and recorded.

$200 gifts covered professional camera lens rentals, ensuring we captured clear, indisputable footage from inside government operations — footage that exposed cruelty, informed litigation, and reached millions of Americans.

$500 gifts funded extended field deployments, covering fuel, vehicles, and lodging so our teams could remain on-site for weeks at a time in some of the most remote regions of the West.

Targeted conservation gifts funded humane fertility control, reducing foal births by up to 77% in areas where horses are losing their habitat. These proven programs are protecting horses on the range without violence or removals.

Small and large gifts alike powered legal action and investigations that shut down the slaughter-linked Adoption Incentive Program, halted a massive eradication effort in Wyoming, and defended the federal slaughter ban.

This is what impact looks like. Not just promises — real protection, paid for by generous donors like you. 

The threats facing wild horses are growing — but so is the impact of a community willing to act. And this year, you proved what’s possible when we refuse to look away.

From all of us at AWHC — and from the wild horses and burros whose lives you helped protect — thank you for making this work possible.

With gratitude,
American Wild Horse Conservation

P.S. If you’re considering a year-end gift, please know this: We take your trust seriously. Every dollar you give is used where it matters most — turning directly into action on the ground, from safety gear and field documentation to litigation and humane conservation that keeps wild horses free. Your support determines how much protection we can deliver in the year ahead.

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

Congress left Washington without passing the FY26 spending bill.

Public pressure between now and when they return in January will be essential to prevent rollbacks and secure critical protections for wild horses in the final budget.

The fight is not over. If you’re with us, please send a message to your elected officials demanding protections for America’s wild herds in the FY26 spending bill.

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

time is running out before Congress recesses until the new year.

This weekend, lawmakers will leave Washington, and decisions made before Friday — a vote on the FY26 spending bill could even happen as soon as today — will shape the future of America’s wild horses and burros in 2026 and beyond.

That’s why, Meredith, we wanted to share two critical actions you can take to protect wild horses and ensure their freedom doesn’t slip further out of reach.

Will you join us in calling on your members of Congress to make sure wild horses are protected in 2026? 

1. Tell Congress to protect wild horses in the FY26 budget
   The Senate is finalizing the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bill, which will determine how wild horses and burros are treated for the next year. We’re urging Senators to include three essential protections in the final bill:

• Maintain the federal slaughter ban for wild horses and burros;
• Fund humane fertility control at $11 million, matching the House’s commitment;
• And prevent mass transfers of horses, including transfers to foreign governments without oversight.

These protections have saved thousands of wild horses — but they are not guaranteed unless lawmakers hear from constituents right now.

2. Tell Congress to support AWHC’s Horse Protection Platform for 2026
   As we look ahead to 2026, wild horses face escalating threats — from large-scale helicopter roundups to overcrowded holding facilities and renewed pressure on humane safeguards. That’s why AWHC, alongside leading animal welfare organizations, has outlined a comprehensive Horse Protection Platform that calls on Congress to:

• Join and strengthen the bipartisan Wild Horse Caucus
• Cosponsor legislation to phase out cruel helicopter roundups
• Support the SAFE Act to permanently ban horse slaughter and export for slaughter
• Support humane, science-based management solutions

This platform represents the roadmap for meaningful reform — but it will only move forward if Congress hears from people like you, Meredith.

With Congress preparing to adjourn, this is our final opportunity in 2025 to influence decisions that will affect wild horses for years to come. 

These actions take just minutes — but their impact will last far longer. Will you take action today to protect wild horses in 2026?

Thank you for standing with us — and for speaking up when it matters most.

With gratitude,
American Wild Horse Conservation

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

As we work toward our $100,000 End-of-Year target, we want to share some of the critical progress supporters like you made possible in 2025 — progress that proves again and again that freedom can’t wait.

Here’s some of what you helped accomplish:

Every step forward happened because supporters like you refused to give up on America’s wild horses. But in the new year, here’s what’s at stake:

Today, only about 56,000 wild horses remain free on the range across the American West. Meanwhile, more than 60,000 are trapped in government holding facilities, many likely to spend the rest of their lives there.

And in 2026, the Bureau of Land Management is planning the largest helicopter roundup in U.S. history — a mass removal that could permanently alter the future of America’s wild herds.

This is why your support matters more than ever.

These wins were hard-fought — but the threats ahead are larger than anything we’ve faced. To meet this moment, we must reach our End-of-Year fundraising goal of $100,000 so we can continue to protect wild horses through the courts, in Congress, and on the range.

With gratitude,
Team AWHC