We are just DAYS away from the start of summer roundups!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
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Wild Horse and Burros Archives
Archive Wild Horse and Burro posts
It’s not too late to speak out against the BLM’s sterilization plan
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
The essence of the North Lander wild herd is captured in its untamed stallions.
But in less than a week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will begin implementing a 10-year plan that includes the castration of up to 95% of the captured and returned stallions, threatening not only their wild behaviors but also the survival of the entire herd.
This would be devastating, Meredith. The castration, or gelding, of wild stallions destroys their natural family dynamics. According to the National Academy of Science, castration leads to a “complete loss of male-type behaviors,” stripping these majestic creatures of their natural instincts and vigor. In a Utah study, castrated stallions lost their herds and struggled to maintain family bonds. These disruptions threaten the social fabric of wild horse herds.
To make matters worse, in addition to gelding, the plan also authorizes the use of unproven Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) in mares, as well as the widespread use of the unstudied vaccine Gonacon. If this plan is implemented, the permanent sterilization of the North Lander stallions and the use of untested IUDs could irrevocably fracture this herd’s genetic viability.
| SPEAK UP FOR NORTH LANDER |
Thank you,
American Wild Horse Conservation
Other ways you can support wild horse conservation
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
From signing petitions to powering our work through contributions, folks like you are the backbone of the wild horse conservation movement. Every letter signed and every dollar raised takes us one step closer to achieving the future we are fighting to build for America’s wild herds.
But we know there are many of you who would like to do even more to support our iconic wild horses and burros. So today, we’re going to tell you about other ways you can help!
Planned gifts like wills and trusts are some of the best ways to help the charities you support long after your lifetime. By including a Legacy Gift to AWHC in your will, you can become a lasting part of our work to realize transformative change and lifelong freedom for America’s wild horses and burros. Please learn more about making a Legacy Gift here.
| LEARN HOW TO MAKE A LEGACY GIFT |
Donating long-term appreciated securities like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds is a great way to support our work to keep these majestic animals wild — and compared to cash, you may be able to automatically increase your gift and your tax donation. Please learn more about donating long-term appreciated securities here.
| LEARN MORE ABOUT STOCKS & BONDS |
Donor-Advised Funds (DAF) provide an immediate tax benefit to you and allow you to grant funds to the charities of your choosing, like AWHC! Please learn more about setting up a DAF here.
| LEARN MORE ABOUT DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS |
And finally, you can purchase American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) merch from one of our partners and a portion of the proceeds will go directly toward the fight to keep wild horses wild! Click here to shop with our partners and check out all of the other different things you can do to help further wild horse and burro protection!
| SHOP OUR PARTNERS |
Thank you!
Team AWHC
Working on the Hill to free horses on the range
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Today — and every day — our team is fighting to secure the freedom and safety of wild horses and burros across the West. Halfway through the year, we’re thrilled to celebrate the tremendous strides we’ve made for our wild herds. That includes our work on Capitol Hill, where Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have banded together to call for reforms to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) cruel and costly Wild Horse and Burro Program.
| POWER OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS WORK |
Photo: WilsonAxpe PhotoAdvocacy
The appropriations process is one of the best ways to advocate for change and is crucial for holding the BLM accountable. By determining how federal funds are allocated, Congress can ensure the BLM prioritizes humane in-the-wild management over cruel helicopter roundups.
And this year, thanks to the unwavering support from advocates like you, 77 representatives have called for humane wild horse management in the Fiscal Year 2025 House Appropriations legislation.
But our work doesn’t stop there. We are also actively supporting other critical legislation to further the cause of wild horses and burro conservation. These bills include:
- Ejiao Act: This legislation aims to ban the import and sale of ejiao, a gelatin made from donkey hides, which is contributing to the decline of donkey populations worldwide.
- Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023-24: This legislation seeks to end the BLM’s inhumane helicopter roundups.
Just this March, we led a nationwide Day of Action supporting the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023-24 (H.R. 3656). This Day of Action led to over 20,000 letters sent to Congress in support of this important legislation.
| POWER OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS WORK |
Our government relations efforts also involved building essential relationships in Congress. We regularly meet with legislators to provide them with timely updates and show them how they can support wild horses. Your generosity enables us to maintain these vital connections and ensure that wild horses and burros remain a legislative priority.
Our triumphs in Congress would be impossible without the tireless support of advocates like you who have signed thousands of letters to elected officials and fueled our cause with financial contributions.
| POWER OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS WORK |
Unfortunately, while immense progress has been made, the fight is far from over. In fact, as summer heats up, helicopter roundups are about to take off across the West.
That’s why we need your help to continue to advocate for a better way in Congress and work to pass wild horse friendly legislation so, together, we can create lasting change for our beloved mustangs and burros. Will you donate $25, $50, or whatever you are able to give right now to help fuel our legislative efforts to protect America’s wild mustangs and burros?
| POWER OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS WORK |
Your advocacy does not go unnoticed. Thanks for all you do!
Onward,
Team AWHC
Action Needed to Protect Montgomery Pass Wild Horses!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
The Montgomery Pass wild horses, also known as the Mono Lake horses, urgently need your help! These magnificent creatures roam the California/Nevada border and are an essential part of the region’s ecosystems and natural heritage. However, their future is at risk due to a proposed plan by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the United States Forest Service (USFS) to round up all the horses who live outside of the artificially-drawn boundaries of the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory (MPWHT).
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In 1988, the federal government set an Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 138 to 230 animals, but the AML has not been revisited for 36 years. A recent census in 2024 estimated the herd at 699 wild horses, many of whom live outside the designated territory.
Now, the BLM and USFS plan to round up and remove all “excess” wild horses outside the territory. This approach ignores critical scientific findings and humane management practices. Take action to ensure a better future for these wild horses!
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Instead of conducting a costly and cruel helicopter roundup, the BLM and USFS must:
- Relocate the horses: According to binding USFS regulations, the agency must consider humanely bait trapping and relocating the removed wild horses. In this case, the USFS should relocate the Montgomery Pass horses within the Territory’s borders and address the ecological conditions that are causing them to leave their designated habitat. If that is not possible, the USFS should evaluate other federal lands where the horses could be relocated.
- Reevaluate the AML: Conduct a thorough reassessment of the AML using new and updated scientific data to ensure it reflects the current ecological reality.
- Develop a management plan that incorporates science: Integrate the findings of the 25-year study on mountain lion predation in the Territory into all future management decisions. This study provides invaluable insights into natural population control mechanisms that should be considered for re-establishing natural predation to manage the herd’s population. Other emerging science regarding the beneficial role these horses play in the environment must be incorporated as well.
- Abandon Helicopter Roundups: Stop rounding up wild horses with helicopters. This method is inhumane and causes undue stress and injury to the animals. If animals must be removed, the BLM and USFS should utilize bait traps and conduct incremental removals of smaller numbers to allow wild horses to be responsibly placed into private care.
- Implement Fertility Control: Utilize humane, scientifically studied, and reversible fertility control initiatives to humanely manage the herd, without resorting to removals.
- Evaluate Livestock Grazing Impacts: Assess and disclose the extent of livestock grazing within and around the Territory and its impact on the area’s land health. Incorporate this understanding into all management decisions.
| TAKE ACTION |
Thank you for your advocacy,
Team AWHC
A powerful story of stallion fatherhood
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
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In just a few weeks, summer helicopter roundups will begin in full force
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
In just a few weeks, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will begin its summer roundup campaign. Over the coming months, thousands of wild horses and burros, including newly born foals, will be subjected to dangerous helicopter roundups across the West. Families will be broken apart, thousands of innocent animals will lose their freedom forever, and many will be seriously injured or worse, killed.
The first of these roundups will take place at Wyoming’s North Lander Complex where the BLM will round up a jaw-dropping 2,766 wild horses from their homes. To make matters worse, the agency has authorized the gelding (castration) of up to 95% of captured and returned stallions at North Lander, as well as the implementation of unproven Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) in returned mares and the widespread use of the unstudied vaccine Gonacon.
Our team is fighting every day to bring an end to the BLM’s cruel and costly helicopter roundups – but until we can stop this practice for good, we must do everything we can to hold the agency accountable for what it’s doing to our wild herds. That’s why we send observers to document as many of these roundups as possible. We must show the world what is happening to our wild horse and burros.
Your support enables us to send our observation teams to the most remote corners of the West, where the BLM conducts many of these brutal operations, to ensure no animal welfare violation goes unrecorded. With just a few weeks left before the start of summer roundups, will you make a contribution today to help us hold the BLM accountable for this summer’s roundups?
We don’t just document these animal welfare violations, we compile our observers’ photos and videos to draw a clear pattern of cruelty against wild horses and burros. We then provide this evidence to change-makers in Congress, as well as use it for legal action when possible.
That’s why we need to ensure we have enough funds to send our observers into the field. Without them, the BLM’s actions will continue to be shrouded in secrecy. Please help us sustain our roundup observation program and help us hold the BLM accountable with a donation today.
Thank you,
American Wild Horse Conservation
June E-News Update
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
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Ushering the issue of wild horse conservation into the mainstream
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
In recent years, wild horse conservation is gaining more and more attention – in part thanks to American Wild Horse Conservation’s (AWHC) efforts to raise awareness about the issues facing our nation’s mustangs and burros.
If we’ve learned one thing as an organization, it’s that once people become aware of the plight of wild horses and burros, they are upset and motivated to take action to protect them.
| FUEL OUR AWARENESS EFFORTS |
That’s why we’ve been seriously ramping up our awareness efforts over the past several years. In the last month alone, we’ve placed and been included in 12 impactful stories in the media highlighting the dangers facing wild horses and burros, including the inhumane use of helicopters for roundups, the Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) slaughter pipeline — which is threatening the lives of hundreds of wild horses and burros — and more:
We’re translating this awareness into direct action for our wild herds.
Recently, we centered our efforts around three major focuses of our work:
- Ending the AIP cash incentive: we mobilized our supporters to call for an end to the AIP, leading to 10,000 actions taken within 24 hours;
- Increasing roundup transparency: We spearheaded a campaign resulting in over 50,000 total letter submissions calling on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to install cameras on helicopters used for roundups;
- And ending the donkey skin trade in the US: we called on our advocates to ask their representatives to cosponsor the Ejiao Act, resulting in over 31,000 total letters in support of this important bill.
Awareness is the key to bringing about the change our wild horses and burros desperately need. The BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program holding system is nearing its breaking point, with more than 64,000 horses in captivity and roundup season less than a month away. Time is of the essence as we work to spread the word about more humane alternatives to protect our wild horses in the wild, where they belong. Will you help continue powering AWHC’s awareness work as we fight to keep wild horses and burros wild, Meredith?
| DONATE |
Thank you,
American Wild Horse Conservation
TAKE ACTION: Tell the BLM to re-evaluate its plans to round up the Little Book Cliffs wild horses!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Colorado’s iconic Little Book Cliffs wild horses need your help.
The Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range spans approximately 36,000 acres and is home to a beautiful herd of roughly 211 horses. But this September, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning to remove 120 wild horses from this historic herd, potentially cutting the population in half.
The BLM set an unscientific appropriate management level (AML) of just 90-150 horses for Little Book Cliffs, which could threaten the genetic viability of the herd in the long term. The plan calls for further roundups over a multiyear period following the initial helicopter roundup to achieve the federal AML target and allows for the use of Intrauterine Devices (IUDs).
This herd’s population has been managed through a humane PZP fertility control program for over twenty years, the last six without roundups, until the current proposal was introduced. This planned roundup is not only cruel and a danger to the lives of hundreds of innocent horses, but it’s also completely unnecessary.
Little Book Cliffs is an opportunity to prioritize humane PZP fertility control as the new model for wild horse conservation, consistent with the intent of SB23-275 – The Colorado Wild Horse Project – which was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis at Little Book Cliffs a year ago.
There is still time to voice opposition to the roundup of the Little Book Cliffs wild horses. Please join us in speaking out against the BLM’s proposed plan by signing onto our public comments calling on the agency to reconsider its plans to round up the herd and instead focus on expanding the humane fertility control program that has already been successful!
| Take Action |
The Colorado Wild Horse Working Group and the $1.5m funds allocated by the state to improve wild horse conservation provide us a chance to supplement and build on local efforts, not see them swept aside by costly and inhumane federal helicopter roundups.
Please take a moment to join us in standing up for the Little Book Cliffs wild horses by signing onto our public comments urging collaboration on, and the continuation of, humane fertility control programs in this herd.
| Take Action |
Thank you,
Team AWHC
Help Us Keep Burros Free and Wild
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
As the sun sets on Burro Awareness Month, we want to take a moment and reflect on the extraordinary impact we’ve made together this month. Thanks to your unwavering support, we’ve raised awareness in the media and Congress about the plight of the West’s incredible wild burros and built a solid foundation for the future of burro advocacy.
We started the month off celebrating World Donkey Day. We called upon our collective herd of wild burro advocates to ask their representatives to cosponsor the Ejiao Act. Your voices were heard—in just one day over 7,000 letters poured into Congress, advocating for the protection of burros and their domestic donkey counterparts. To date, over 31,000 advocates have called on their Members of Congress to support the Ejiao Act! This incredible show of support brings us closer to securing a future where burros are safe from exploitation. Will you take your support one step further and donate to ensure we can continue our lifesaving work?
| Fuel our Work for Wild Burros |
This Burro Awareness Month, we spent time educating the public about wild burros and their benefit to the ecosystems they inhabit. Research shows, that they dig for water and they create water holes that benefit other wildlife, particularly in arid environments. Their presence is crucial for maintaining the balance and health of their habitats and sustaining hundreds of plant and animal species.
Despite these benefits, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) continues to regard wild burros as invasive pests, leading to mass roundups that fracture fragile populations, harm individuals, and shatter their social bonds. In the coming months, the BLM plans to chase over 1,100 wild burros with helicopters, permanently removing them from their families and homes. We need your help documenting these roundups to continue to educate Congress and the public about this mistreatment of federally protected animals. To mark the end of Burro Awareness Month, will you help ensure we have the funds to document the upcoming roundups?
Every dollar you give helps us to advocate for stronger protective laws, conduct field research, document the lives of wild burros, and educate the public about the importance of burros in our ecosystems. Can you chip in and support the movement?
With gratitude,
Team AWHC
Introducing Baldy, Laney and Rain Storm
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Allow us to introduce you to Baldy, Laney, and Rain Storm. These three beautiful mares represent three generations of wild horses. Baldy is Laney’s mom and Laney is Rain Storm’s mom! Thanks to American Wild Horse Conservation’s fertility control program, all three live and free on Nevada’s Virginia Range.
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The VR fertility control program uses the PZP vaccine, delivered remotely by darting to wild mares. For the past five years, this innovative approach to herd management has allowed these majestic horses to roam uninhibited by roundups, or the threat of slaughter.
As you may have heard, the success of this program was affirmed by a peer-reviewed study, which examined the viability of humane fertility control in herds like the one. Even with a herd the size of this one — more than 3,000 horses — the PZP vaccine has proven safe, humane, and effective.
| Chip in to Support Wild Mares |
We are laser-focused on our mission to end the Bureau of Land Management’s inhumane roundup and stockpile cycle and instead focus on humane, in-the-wild conservation initiatives. This study, published in March of this year, shows Congress, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the American public that there is a better way to protect mares like Baldy, Laney, and Rain Storm.
“Our hope is that this study provides impetus to the growing calls for reform of the federal wild horse management program, which relies on costly helicopter roundups, the unsustainable removal of wild horses, and confinement of these animals in tax-funded holding facilities.”
– Nicole Hayes, AWHC conservation scientist
We are proud to lead the way in wild horse conservation through hands-on, humane programs like this. But we cannot do it without you. Your donation today can make an immediate difference for our wild herds.
Thank you for your dedication to keeping wild horses wild.
Onward,
American Wild Horse Conservation
6 things you should know about wild burros…
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
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The reality of what our wild herds face in BLM holding corrals
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Our team at American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) works day in and day out to uncover the truth about the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) wild horse and burro removal and stockpile program.
Recently, our representatives attended the Winnemucca Holding Facility in Nevada where over 2,000 wild horses are confined in holding. There, they witnessed disturbing conditions, including a notable lack of shelter and windbreaks, leaving the animals exposed to weather.
They also noted that the pens appeared too small to accommodate the number of horses they held, leading to overcrowding and competition for resources, especially water.
But most shocking of all, while touring the facility our representative saw what appeared to be a severely injured, possibly dead, or dying foal lying amongst the other animals in the pen.
This is the dark reality of what awaits America’s wild horses and burros post-roundup. But sadly, this is not an isolated incident.
BLM records obtained by our Investigations Team through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that 23 horses were euthanized or died at this same facility within a 24-day window in 2023.All deaths were attributed to suspected botulism poisoning. Additionally, just last month our Investigations Team also exposed that 9% of the captured horse population died at another Nevada holding corral in Fallon, Nev.
With 64,000 of these iconic animals in BLM holding facilities across the country, exposing these conditions is vital to our mission to secure protections for wild horses and burros on and off the range.
We are determined to end this suffering, but we need supporters like you to help us move forward. If you can, please chip in to support our investigations work so we can continue to raise awareness about the unacceptable conditions of BLM holding facilities.
Thank you,
American Wild Horse Conservation
eNews Update
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
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SIGN ON: Tell the BLM to END the AIP cash incentive, not increase it >>
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
You may have seen that, this week, the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) released a report praising the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) controversial Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which pays individuals $1,000 per animal to adopt up to four wild horses and burros a year. Unfortunately, this report not only ignores the consequences of the AIP, but it calls for increasing the cash incentive payments that are sending thousands of wild horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline. Further, this report supports the status quo of roundups and removals and minimizes the importance of scientific, affordable, and publicly acceptable wild horse conservation solutions.
We know the AIP has been a disaster and using this report to justify the continuation of the program would mean more beloved wild horses and burros in the slaughter pipeline. Will you take a moment to protect wild horses and burros from slaughter by calling on the BLM to abandon the cash incentives, not increase them?
| TAKE ACTION |
Since 2020, the BLM has rounded up over 50,000 wild horses and burros and adopted out a mere 15,000 through the AIP. During the same timeframe, our Investigations Team has identified over 2,100 BLM-branded wild horses and burros in kill pens. This is just a fraction of the true total since most kill pens don’t publicly advertise these animals before shipping them to slaughter.
| TAKE ACTION |
Our investigation – which resulted in a 2021 groundbreaking front-page exposé in the New York Times – identified over a dozen groups of related individuals that have been defrauding taxpayers out of thousands of dollars by adopting multiple rounds of AIP animals and then sending them to kill pens once the cash incentives clear their bank accounts. In some cases, these nefarious adopters go back just days after being awarded title to adopt their next round of animals.
Unfortunately, this crisis has only gotten worse since our investigation began, as the BLM continues to round up more and more mustangs and burros every year. In fact, the influx of AIP wild horses and burros into slaughter auctions has far exceeded the capacity of rescue organizations trying to save them.
| END THE AIP CASH INCENTIVE |
But, it’s vital that the BLM end the AIP cash incentive, not increase it. Instead of handing out cash payments, the BLM should offer a noncash veterinary voucher to support responsible adopters and offset the initial care of adopted wild horses and burros. But to make that happen, we need to raise our collective voices and demand the change these innocent animals desperately need.
Thank you,
Team AWHC
How we’re fighting for burros
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Wild burros are faced with significant threats to their freedom and safety as a result of misguided federal policy that prioritizes cruel roundups instead of humane in-the-wild management.
We focus much of our efforts on fighting for wild horses, and we are just as staunch in our commitment to advocating for our beloved burros! And what better time to double down on our burro advocacy than during Burro Awareness Month?
| GIVE TO HELP US ADVOCATE FOR BURROS |
One of the most important ways we’re fighting back for burros is on Capitol Hill. We’re advocating for several important bills that would reform the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) cruel and costly Wild Horse and Burro Program, like the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023-2024 introduced by Representative Dina Titus (D-NV)). This important piece of legislation would ban the use of helicopters in federal wild horse and burro roundups. Thanks to our advocacy efforts, over 20,000 individuals have written to their Members of Congress asking them to cosponsor the bill.
We’re also advocating for the passage of the Ejiao Act, a bill that would prohibit the transportation, sale, and purchase of donkeys or donkey hides for the purpose of producing ejiao – a gelatin made from boiling donkey skins. Experts estimate that the global demand for donkey skins is approximately 4.8 million hides per year. As a result, the donkey skin trade is decimating global donkey populations. Passing this legislation could help save untold numbers of donkeys and burros from slaughter for their skins. Our advocacy work has generated over 50,000 letters sent in support of the Ejiao Act!
AWHC is leading the charge and thanks to our herd of advocates, Congress is hearing our collective calls for the humane conservation of America’s wild horses and burros!
| POWER OUR ADVOCACY WORK FOR BURROS |
Beyond our legislative efforts, we’re also defending burros in court, particularly against the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which has resulted in droves of wild burros being funneled into the slaughter pipeline in recent years.
The AIP was meant to increase the number of untrained wild horses and burros adopted out by offering financial incentives to adopters. However, less than two years after the program began, AWHC began receiving reports from rescue groups about an influx of BLM-branded wild horses and burros to known kill pens. Our team has identified and aided in the rescue of several groups of AIP burros, including a group of 22 burros and another group of 11 burros that were all dumped at kill pens together.
To combat this extremely worrying trend, AWHC filed suit against the alleged illegal implementation of the AIP and is taking the BLM on court right now to put a stop to the program.
| FUEL OUR FIGHT FOR BURROS |
Thank you,
Team AWHC
WATCH: Scientific research details the positive impacts wild burros have on their ecology
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
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A Victory for North Dakota Wild Horses
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Have you heard the incredible news out of North Dakota? Thanks to a strong showing of public support from wild horse advocates, the Three Affiliated Tribes, state leaders, and Congressional representatives — North Dakota’s only wild horse herd will be allowed to continue living in the only home it has known for centuries.
GIVE TO HELP US ADVOCATE FOR WILD HORSES
The National Park Service recently announced it will abandon plans to severely reduce or completely remove the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) horse herd. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of the only parks in America where visitors can catch a glimpse of free-roaming horses.
Photo courtesy of Sandy Sisti
When we heard about the plans to eradicate the Teddy Roosevelt wild horses, we knew we had to join the elected leaders and wild horse organizations fighting back. So, AWHC submitted public comments, launched awareness-raising billboards, and mobilized over 20,000 members of the public to speak up for the preservation of this historic herd. Strong showings of support, like this one, are key to enacting lasting policy reform in both the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
| POWER OUR WORK |
Together, we can secure a future of humane management and fair treatment for these historic animals.
Thank you,
American Wild Horse Conservation
SIGN ON: Join our demand for transparency at BLM Roundups!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Thanks in part to AWHC’s public awareness campaigns, a growing number of Americans are speaking out against the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) cruel helicopter roundup and removal cycle. Despite this growing outrage, the agency continues to conduct these operations – oftentimes in some of the most remote corners of the West and away from the public eye.
Photo of the January 2024 roundup at Black Mountain by Darlene Smith
While we send observers to document as many of these roundups as possible, the BLM and its contractors enact restrictions on public observation, including placing our observers over a mile away from the trap. This often results in a significant lack of transparency during the roundups.
| SIGN ON → |
The roundups of the Black Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA) burros in Arizona over the past few years are prime examples of why these cameras are so desperately needed.
This HMA spans an impressive 1.1 million acres and encompasses public, state, tribal, and private lands in Mohave County, AZ. The BLM estimated the current population of the Black Mountain HMA to be nearly over 800 burros, making it one of the most genetically diverse wild burros herds left in the American Southwest.
Unfortunately, this herd has been repeatedly targeted for removal by the BLM and has suffered tremendously as a result.
Photo of the January 2024 roundup at Black Mountain by Darlene Smith
The agency targeted hundreds of burros for removal from the HMA this year in an attempt to reduce the population to an arbitrary Appropriate Management Level (AML) of just 478 burros. While the BLM did not meet its target, many burros were captured and removed from their homes, and one burro was even euthanized for a pre-existing condition.
This herd was also targeted in a particularly brutal roundup in 2022. AWHC had observers on the ground to document the operation, but it wasn’t until after the roundup had concluded that it was uncovered that the BLM granted its contractors permission to use electric cattle prods on several animals while loading them onto trailers.
According to the agency’s own Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program Assessment, BLM contractor’s staff treated burros in an abusive and inhumane manner, including “aggressively hitting and jabbing the paddle into the sides and sensitive areas of burros.”
The contractor faced little to no repercussions for their actions, and without this report, the mistreatment of these burros would remain unknown. But Meredith, if there were cameras on helicopters and at trap sites, the public could hold the BLM accountable for the the cruelty inflicted upon these animals.
| ACT NOW |
Thank you,
Team AWHC