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Adoption Incentive Program

Imagine a wild horse in the courtroom

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Suzanne here — I wanted to give you an update about the important work of AWHC’s legal team right now and the looming legal battles ahead to protect wild horses and burros.

From a legal perspective, the situation surrounding wild horses and burros is very unique. These equines are legally protected as living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West and as an integral part of public lands they inhabit. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the agency tasked with managing most of these beloved animals, but sadly as you and I both know, Meredith, wild horses and burros are threatened by the outdated and unscientific management practices the agency implements.

For years, our legal team has worked to build a strong firewall of protection around wild horses and burros, but we’re not done yet. We have a few key upcoming legal battles that will decide the fate of thousands of wild horses and burros.

We are:

  • Continuing our litigation against the implementation of the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) that’s sending hundreds — if not thousands — of wild horses into the slaughter pipeline;
  • Taking legal action to hold the agency accountable when it fails to release critical records we request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA);
  • Tracking the BLM’s rulemaking process to “clarify its authorities” under the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act and pursuing a rulemaking petition to strengthen the agency’s Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program Guidelines and make them enforceable.

As we take on these fights in the courts, we are gearing up for the final legal showdown in our decade-long battle to stop the BLM from removing two million acres of federally protected habitat and eradicating the beloved wild horses who live in the Checkerboard region of Wyoming. The final decision has been made by the BLM and its release is imminent, but with your help, we will be ready to go to court to defend Wyoming’s iconic Checkerboard herds. 

These legal battles could not be more important — the fate of thousands of wild horses and burros are on the line. So today, I’m here to ask if you’ll make a donation to help build up our Legal Fund as we fight to protect wild horses and burros across the West. Will you make a donation today to support this important work, Meredith?

DONATE

Thank you for helping us to be a voice in the courtroom for these innocent animals.

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign

One last ask for $30 today

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

The cost to vaccinate a single mare with a PZP vaccine is just $30. 

But instead, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) spends millions of taxpayer dollars to brutally round up our wild horses and burros by chasing them with helicopters and confining them in pens, robbing them of all that wild horses hold dear — family and freedom. 

Far too many of these beloved animals are entering the slaughter pipeline through the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program, as exposed by our investigation earlier this year.

On Nevada’s Virginia Range, where a population of state-managed wild mustangs is threatened by extreme habitat loss, we’re operating the largest PZP fertility program in the world for wild horses.

And our work there has reduced the foaling rate by 44% while allowing these animals to remain free as nature intended. This data is incredibly useful as we prove to lawmakers and the BLM that there is a better alternative to the agency’s current approach to managing our wild horse populations.

So today, on December 30th, I’m asking you personally to donate $30 or more to support the continued success of our PZP program.

Thanks to a generous donor, every gift made now through tomorrow at midnight will be doubled — that means your $30 gift today helps not one, but two horses! Can you help us fuel this groundbreaking program in the new year?

DONATE $30 →

 

Thank you,

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign

2021 in Review: Uncovering the Adoption Incentive Program’s slaughter pipeline

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

2021 was a year full of highs and lows — and we’re so grateful that through it all, you stood by our side in the fight to protect wild horses and burros.

One of our biggest accomplishments was our investigation into the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which resulted in a front-page New York Times exposé, elevating the tragedies of the AIP to a national level.  

As one of AWHC’s lead investigators into the AIP, every single day, I identify and track new BLM mustangs and burros in kill pens across the country. After months of investigation, we confirmed that the titles of the horses and burros we were rescuing matched those of animals adopted through the AIP.

Time and time again in this investigation, we’ve identified adopters who have collected the AIP cash incentives, then dumped the horses and burros they had adopted at slaughter auctions as soon as the money cleared their accounts.

Our Rescue Fund was key to this investigation as it allowed us to support our rescue partners in pulling wild horses and burros from kill pens. This not only saved these innocent animals’ lives but also gave us access to information — including titles and brand numbers — that helped us connect the dots to expose the program.

Supporters like you helped to fuel this lifesaving work. Will you make a donation to AWHC once again to fuel our Rescue Fund and help us continue our fight to terminate the AIP? From now until December 31 all donations will be matched up to $100,000. Donate now to DOUBLE your impact for wild horses and burros in 2022. >>

HAVE YOUR GIFT DOUBLED →

Since uncovering and exposing this slaughter pipeline, we’ve made some impressive strides! Congress has taken notice of this problem, and our Government Relations team is working with elected officials on solutions to better protect our wild horses and burros from slaughter.

After the New York Times exposé, the BLM announced a list of reforms to the Adoption Incentive Program. But, these reforms did not go far enough, so we filed a lawsuit. This week, government attorneys informed our lawyers that the BLM would be unveiling a new Adoption Incentive Program in the new year, and we will be watching closely to see if meaningful reforms are forthcoming.

Meredith: Supporters like you make these important initiatives possible — our investigative work to uncover this slaughter pipeline, our rescue fund to help save the AIP’s victims, our Government Relations work on the Hill, and even our litigation against the BLM. None of this would be possible without your help.

As we head into the new year, will you help us continue this critical work on behalf of America’s wild horses and burros by making a donation today? Help us reach our $125,000 Year-End goal with a donation to fuel our fight in 2022!

HAVE YOUR GIFT DOUBLED →

Thanks,

Amelia Perrin
Communications Associate
American Wild Horse Campaign

Your support made this our best Giving Tuesday ever

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

From each and every one of us at the American Wild Horse Campaign, I want to thank you for your dedication and support this Giving Tuesday. 

When we asked if you would step up for wild horses and burros on our biggest fundraising day of the year, you responded with the generosity and passion that defines this incredible community.

Thanks to you, not only did we hit yesterday’s $75,000 goal — we far surpassed it! Your generosity helped us to exceed our highest Giving Tuesday goal ever and raise a record-breaking sum towards our fight to keep America’s horses and burros wild and free on the public lands they call home.

Photo by: Kimerlee Curyl

We know that this was no easy feat, and we are unbelievably grateful for your support. We hope you celebrate this amazing success with us and know just how important you are to our growing herd.

The hard work is unfortunately never done, but it’s made more powerful, heartfelt, and hopeful because of you and your commitment to our cause. Your generosity this Giving Tuesday will go far in 2022 as we:

  • Rescue more victims of the Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) like the Elkhart 8;
  • Fight in our ongoing lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the termination of the AIP;
  • Continue to lobby and secure victories like the $11 million in BLM funding towards reversible immunocontraceptive fertility control;
  • And so much more in our fight to preserve the freedom of America’s wild horses and burros and make roundups a thing of the past.

There will be more battles ahead in 2022, but in the meantime, from all of us here at the American Wild Horse Campaign: Thank you again for your generosity and support this Giving Tuesday.

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign

We’re raising money this #GivingTuesday to keep wild horses WILD >>

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Giving Tuesday is finally here — and so is our biggest Giving Tuesday fundraising goal EVER! 

Last week, we emailed you about an exciting match opportunity — and I’m thrilled to announce that we unlocked our Giving Tuesday 2x Match, so all gifts made today will be DOUBLED!

We set a goal to raise $75,000 before midnight tonight to fuel our fight for wild horses and burros as we head into 2022. This might seem like a lot, but Giving Tuesday is our most critical fundraising day of the entire year, and 2022 is set to be our busiest year yet!

Can you help kickstart our Giving Tuesday fundraising with a donation to AWHC right now?

HAVE YOUR GIFT DOUBLED → DONATE NOW

Earlier this year, we uncovered the wild horse-to-slaughter pipeline that has resulted from the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) failed Adoption Incentive Program (AIP). After exposing this disastrous program, we filed a lawsuit against the BLM.

While the BLM announced reforms to the program as a result of the uproar we caused — their reforms are not enough and hundreds of horses and burros are still being dumped in kill pens.

That’s why we’re dedicating part of the funds raised today to the victims of the Adoption Incentive Program. Your donation today will help to continue our lawsuit against the BLM and fuel our fight to prevent more wild horses and burros from entering the slaughter pipeline through the AIP.

Will you make a 2x matched donation right now to fuel this important work?

The BLM has failed the wild horses and burros that have been placed in jeopardy through the Adoption Incentive Program. But our work to help rescue the AIP’s victims and litigate for the termination of the program won’t stop.

Will you make a donation to fuel our Legal Fund and our continued litigation against the BLM? Donate now and have your gift DOUBLED today!

HAVE YOUR GIFT DOUBLED → DONATE NOW

Thank you so much for your help, Meredith.

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign

Thinking of all our AWHC supporters this Thanksgiving

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

On this Thanksgiving holiday — from all of us here at the American Wild Horse Campaign — I want to send my heartfelt thanks to you for your support and dedication to protecting America’s wild horses and burros.

You have helped us accomplish some pretty amazing things this year, and for that, we are so grateful.

Supporters like you helped us expose the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) as a pipeline to slaughter for “truckloads” of wild horses and burros. Our investigation led to a front-page New York Times exposé, which elevated this devastating issue to the national level.

Your support provided our field team with the resources and equipment necessary to successfully implement the world’s largest PZP fertility control program for wild horses on Nevada’s Virginia Range. This groundbreaking program is proving that there is a better way to manage wild horses and burros besides brutally rounding them up with helicopters.

And guess what? It’s working. This year, we reduced the foaling rate by more than 40% as compared to 2020. These incredible results armed our Government Relations team with the statistics and evidence necessary to secure $11 million in funding towards a comprehensive, humane fertility control vaccine program as part of the BLM’s 2022 Fiscal Year budget.

Your efforts helped us defeat SJR3 — a resolution that called for the removal of close to 40,000 wild horses and burros from their homes in Nevada. And your generosity helped us support the rescues of innocent foals on the Virginia Range, like Hazel, and victims of the AIP including 12 BLM-branded burros from an Oklahoma kill pen and 10 unhandled mustangs from a kill pen in Colorado.

As 2021 comes to a close, we are grateful for your advocacy, your financial support, and your passion and dedication to protecting the wild horses and burros we all cherish. Many battles lie before us in the new year as we work toward a better future for these magnificent animals, but with you on our side, we know we will prevail.

All of us at AWHC wish you and your loved ones (human and non-human) a very happy and restful Thanksgiving holiday.

Warmly,
Suzanne

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign

P.S. Giving Tuesday is less than 1 week away! If you’d like to help kickstart our #GivingTuesday efforts, every gift made now through Tuesday will be matched up to $40,000! You can donate here to double your impact for wild horses and burros in 2022!

BREAKING: BLM announces changes to the failed Adoption Incentive Program

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

We have some important news we want to share with you…

On the very same day that we confirmed 10 more Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-branded burros were adopted through the Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) then dumped at an Oklahoma kill pen, the BLM released a list of so-called “reforms” to the AIP.

Although we are pleased that the BLM is finally paying attention to this disastrous program, the announced changes will not stop the flow of wild horses and burros through the AIP into the slaughter pipeline. 

BLM-branded wild burros AWHC recently helped to rescue from an Oklahoma kill pen.
BLM-branded burros AWHC recently helped to rescue from an Oklahoma kill pen.

And while dozens of mustangs and burros continue to be funneled into kill pens across the country, the BLM continues to minimize the extent of the problem — despite the incriminating evidence found in the report AWHC presented to the agency.

So, while the BLM’s announced changes are a start, they are certainly not enough. These reforms will not be sufficient or effective in keeping wild horses and burros out of the slaughter pipeline. That’s why our lawsuit against the BLM to end this cash incentive adoption program is so important. We won’t stop until the program is terminated. Can you chip in to our Legal Fund now to help us have the resources to put an end to this failed program?

DONATE TO OUR LEGAL FUND

The BLM’s announced changes continue to focus on only protecting wild horses and burros before title passes — which means once under new ownership, wild horses and burros can be sold to kill pens if their owner chooses to do so.

This is not the only critical flaw in the BLM’s proposed changes. The announced reforms do nothing to address the problem inherent in the cash incentive component of the program, nor do they provide adequate safeguards against widespread abuse within the AIP.

Unless the BLM stops paying people to adopt wild, untamed horses and burros, the flow of these innocent animals to slaughter auctions will not stop. We’re fighting hard to terminate the AIP and ensure that no more wild horses or burros are placed in jeopardy of slaughter as a result of this operation. Please consider making a donation right now to our Legal Fund to help us take on the BLM and put an end to the Adoption Incentive Program.

DONATE TO OUR LEGAL FUND

Thank you for your support,

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign

ACTION ALERT: Tell your Senators to protect wild horses and burros!!

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Over the last several months our Government Relations team has been working in collaboration with members of Congress to ensure that the interests of wild horses and burros are represented during the FY 2022 Appropriations process.

We are excited to report that the House Appropriations Committee just passed the Fiscal Year 2022 Interior Appropriations spending bill and it includes important language championed by AWHC and U.S. Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN), Dina Titus (D-NV), Mark Pocan (D-WI), and over 40 other Representatives!

If included in the final spending bill passed by the House and Senate, this legislation will continue the ban on slaughtering wild horses and burros, require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to allocate at least $11 million to implement fertility control programs to manage wild horse and burro populations, evaluate relocating these federally protected animals as an alternative to removals, and review the “Adoption Incentive Program,” (AIP) which was exposed by the AWHC as a pipeline to slaughter for hundreds of wild horses and burros.

This is a win for wild horses — but our work isn’t done. We’re currently working with several Senators to urge the Senate Appropriations Committee to adopt similar language. 

We need your help to get this language passed in the Senate. Can you contact your two Senators right now and ask them to support this important language to protect the lives of wild horses and burros?

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS >>

Our next steps are very important, Meredith. We’re extremely concerned that an increase in funding to the BLM will continue the Trump Administration’s wild horse management plan, which calls for the removal of over 90,000 wild horses and burros from public lands over the next five years. 

We have an opportunity to protect the lives of thousands of wild horses and burros, but it can’t be done without you. Can you contact your Senators right now and ask them to adopt at least $11 million for fertility control and the horse-friendly language passed by the House to protect the lives of wild horses and burros?

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS >>

Thank you for your support,

Holly Gann Bice
Director of Government Relations
American Wild Horse Campaign

LEGAL UPDATE 🚨: We gave the BLM a chance, now we’re suing.

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Last month, we sent a legal petition to the Department of the Interior, giving it until June 30, 2021 to shut down the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) failed Adoption Incentive Program (AIP). Unfortunately, Meredith, the Interior Department failed to respond to our petition.

So now, in collaboration with several of our partners — Skydog Sanctuary, Evanescent Mustang Rescue, and photographer Carol Walker — we have filed suit against the BLM to put an end to the AIP. 

We have provided the Interior Department with clear evidence that the BLM violated several federal laws when creating the AIP, and that the program has resulted in a significant uptick in the number of wild horses and burros entering the slaughter pipeline. But so far the response is just an internal “review” with no halting of the program — meaning that BLM horses and burros continue to be sent to kill pens through the AIP. 

Even if just one more wild horse ends up at a kill pen as a result of this program, that is still one too many. Will you make a $25 donation to our Legal Fund today to help us have the resources for this legal battle?

DONATE

Since uncovering this slaughter pipeline, which led to a New York Times exposé earlier this year, we’ve been working nonstop to put an end to this disastrous program. We’ve worked with Senator Dianne Feinstein and 30+ other members of Congress urging the Interior Department to suspend the program and conduct a thorough investigation.

The lives of hundreds of wild horses and burros are at stake, Meredith. The Interior Department has failed to appropriately respond to our requests to end this program. So with no signs of stopping from the BLM — we’ve now taken legal action to ensure that the AIP program is terminated. 

Can you make a donation to our Legal Fund today to help us take on the Interior Department’s BLM in court and terminate their Adoption Incentive Program?

DONATE

Thank you for your support,

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign

Fuel our fight for wild horses on the Hill

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

This past week has been a whirlwind.

The New York Times article published last weekend has resulted in A LOT of buzz for wild horses. Thanks to our partners who helped us uncover the unethical operations that were happening through the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), we now have a means to fight against the AIP on Capitol Hill.

As we speak, we are working with members of Congress to put a halt to the AIP program, pass federal legislation to help keep wild horses wild, and we’re fighting back against a dangerous bill that would strip away federal protections for wild horses and burros.

Our Government Relations team is relentless in their legislative fight to protect wild horses and burros, but they have been working especially hard since the New York Times article came out. They’ve been working around the clock — holding meetings with legislators, mobilizing supporters to contact their elected officials, and working to help develop policies that will protect wild horses and burros.

Can you make a donation today to help us have the resources to keep our staff on the Hill and continue our legislative efforts to protect wild horses and burros?

DONATE TODAY!

Our Government Relations team has been integral in the legislative victories we’ve had to date. Just this year, AWHC helped put an end to SJR3, a Nevada bill that called on Congress to fund the removal of 40,000 of Nevada’s wild horses, and mobilized supporters like you to contact your legislators and push for Congress to support the confirmation of Secretary of the Interior Deb Halaand, who supported wild horse protection when she was in Congress.

We’re able to do this important advocacy work because of supporters like you. Erica, will you make a donation today to help us continue our work in the fields, in court, and on the Hill?

DONATE TODAY!

Thank you for your support,

American Wild Horse Campaign

The thanks goes to you

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

We wanted to say thank you — after this weekend’s New York Times article was published, we have received an outpouring of support for our work. 

If you haven’t yet had a chance to read the article from the New York Times uncovering the wild horse-slaughter pipeline that has emerged as a result of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) — you can check it out at the link here. 

In coordination with our partners, we spent significant time searching for and accumulating tangible evidence to document the connection between this program and the slaughter of hundreds of cherished wild horses and burros — leading to the New York Times exposé. Your support made this work possible and it will carry us through our efforts to use legal, legislative, and grassroots channels to shut this program down. Can you make a donation today to help us shut down the AIP?

A key part of our research was using our Rescue Fund to help our partners rescue wild horses and burros from kill pens. Not just saving these innocent animal’s lives, but also giving us access to information — including titles and brand numbers — that helped us connect the dots.

Will you make a donation to help us continue to monitor, expose, and shut down the AIP and help its innocent victims?

DONATE TODAY!

Now that this story is out, your support is critical. Thousands of America’s wild horses and burros are at risk because of this program and the BLM’s mass roundup plan that is resulting in their slaughter. They need our help.

Please make a donation today to help us put an end to the BLM’s AIP and continue our fight to protect wild horses and burros.

DONATE TODAY!

Thank you,
American Wild Horse Campaign

 

BREAKING: We worked with the New York Times to investigate the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

We have breaking news.

Over the last several months, the American Wild Horse Campaign — with assistance from Evanescent Mustang Rescue, Skydog Ranch and Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary — has been conducting an investigation into the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), leading to today’s New York Times report exposing this federal program as a subsidized pipeline to slaughter for federally-protected wild horses and burros.

The BLM’s AIP pays individuals $1,000 to adopt a wild, unhandled horse or burro. As AWHC predicted when the program was implemented in 2019, the initiative has been a disaster for these animals. It is now clear that the BLM is laundering horses to slaughter through the AIP and evading the long-standing Congressional slaughter ban. 

This program is a predictable result of the BLM’s inhumane and costly mass roundup program and the agency’s efforts to empty holding pens to make room for the tens of thousands of horses and burros targeted for removal over the next five years.

Our investigation, as affirmed by the New York Times, has documented:

  • Wild horses and burros are being sent to slaughter through the AIP.
  • Adopters are collecting the payments then sending horses to livestock auctions known as “kill pens” where they are purchased by kill buyers and shipped across the border for slaughter.
  • Adopters are routinely violating their BLM adoption contracts, which they sign under penalty of perjury, prohibiting the sale of these animals directly or indirectly to slaughter.
  • Groups of related individuals are evading the four-horse adoption limit by adopting multiple horses each using the same location on their applications, then collecting as much as $30,000 in AIP payments and sales of the horses at kill pens.
  • The AIP additionally has resulted in severe neglect and abuse of horses and burros by adopters unqualified or uninterested in providing adequate care.

 

  • The AIP should not be allowed to continue. The BLM must stop rounding up wild horses and burros and start managing them humanely in the wild. Thousands of America’s iconic wild horses and burros are at risk and need your voice.

    Please take these three actions to make change for them right now:

    1. Sign our petition demanding an end to the AIP and to mass roundups that send too many wild horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline.
    2. Share the New York Times article on social media.
    3. Call & write Congress to demand the AIP program be terminated. You can leave a message over the weekend.

    Thank you for speaking up for our wild horses and burros at this critical time!

    AWHC Team