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Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act

It’s time to unite and fight for our nation’s wild horses and burros

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Many Americans gathered on Tuesday evening to watch as election results rolled in. While not all results are final, it’s clear that America’s landscape has shifted, presenting both opportunities and challenges for the wild horses and burros we’re committed to protecting.

Every new administration and Congress brings fresh opportunities for change, but it can also bring new risks, such as reopening the door to the slaughter of these cherished animals. 

The reality is that no administration since President Richard Nixon signed the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act in 1971 has truly championed wild horses and burros. Yet, public support for their protection remains one of the few causes that unites Americans across the political spectrum. Time and again, polls show that the vast majority of people—Democrats and Republicans alike—want to preserve these animals as part of our Western heritage and natural landscape.

Despite the political shifts over the years, we are encouraged by the enduring support for humane solutions to protect wild horses. Now it’s up to us to ensure this bipartisan support is reflected in Congress with champions on both sides of the aisle.

We knew no matter who won, the fight ahead would require renewed focus, resilience, and unity. At American Wild Horse Conservation, we stand ready and committed to do just that. Our mission is to rally new allies around science-backed, humane, and fiscally responsible management solutions that reflect the treatment Americans expect for federally protected animals.

Grassroots supporters—people like you—are the foundation of AWHC. Together, we’ve built the largest grassroots base in the history of this issue. Now, we must grow even stronger to ensure our voices are heard in Washington, D.C. We’re the last line of defense between wild horses and the threat of mass destruction or slaughter, and we are a force for change that cannot be ignored.

Thank you for standing with us. With your commitment, we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and defend the wild spirit of the West. This is our moment to unite, mobilize, and continue the fight for the protections that wild horses and burros so rightly deserve

Stay Wild,

 

Suzanne Roy 

Executive Director

American Wild Horse Conservation

How we’re taking action for Wyoming’s wild herds in the courtroom

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Our wild herds are safest in the wild, where they can roam freely in their natural habitats with their families. But the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) inhumane policies are slashing wild horse and burro populations to dangerously low levels, depriving these iconic animals of their right to live freely on western public lands.

That’s why we’re working every day to end brutal helicopter roundups and keep wild horses and burros out of overburdened holding facilities. Today, we’d like to share an update on the critical legal work we’re undertaking in Wyoming to protect our wild herds. But first – if you’re able, please chip in to help us power our Legal Fund — and read on to learn about our efforts to defend wild horses  in Wyoming. >>

POWER OUR LEGAL FUND

For over a decade, we’ve been fighting in federal court to prevent the BLM from eliminating 2.1 million acres of federally designated habitat for wild horses in the state and slashing the state’s wild horse population by one third, including entirely eradicating the Salt Wells Creek and Great Divide Basin populations.

At issue is the BLM’s decision to eliminate wild horses from the 2-million acre Wyoming Checkerboard area at the demand of the Rock Springs Grazing Association. This decision sets a terrible precedent, essentially handing over our public lands to private interests and allowing private landowners to dictate the presence of wild horses on public lands.

In July, our 12-year legal battle culminated when our lawyers traveled to Wyoming to argue against this dangerous plan in court. Unfortunately, the lower court issued a decision in August that approved the BLM’s plan.

Given the political landscape in Wyoming, we anticipated that this case would likely be resolved by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. With so much at stake for Wyoming’s wild horses and herds across the West, we moved swiftly to appeal. Just days after the lower court decision, our coalition of wild horse advocates, and animal welfare and conservation groups filed our notice of appeal. And just last week, we submitted our opening brief. 

This opening brief is a crucial step in the appeals process, laying out our arguments as to why the BLM’s actions clearly violate the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and why the lower court’s decision is flawed. Our attorney, Bill Eubanks of Eubanks and Associates, has crafted a powerful case, and since we have previously succeeded on similar issues before this appellate court, we believe we have a strong chance of winning.

But this fight won’t be easy or quick. Because this case is so critical to the future of wild horses in the West, we’re asking for your support through a donation to our Legal Fund. Will you help today? We can’t do this vital work without your support.

POWER OUR LEGAL FUND

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Conservation

We just sued the BLM to save WY wild horses!

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

On Monday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved a land use plan amendment to eliminate 2.1 million acres of wild horse habitat in Wyoming and slash the allowed population of wild horses in the state by one-third.

Two days later, AWHC and our coalition of conservation and animal welfare groups, academics, and wildlife photographers filed suit in federal court to stop the plan. The stakes are very high: two iconic wild horse populations in the Salt Wells Creek and Great Divide Basin Herd Management Areas (HMA) would be completely eradicated, and a third population in the Adobe Town HMA would be slashed in half. 

FUEL OUR LEGAL FUND

If allowed to stand, this plan will take away 43% of wild horse habitat in Wyoming and deprive thousands of wild horses of their legal right to roam free on our public lands. These magnificent animals will be cruelly rounded up and confined in holding pens, some for life. Far too many will be sold into the slaughter pipeline.

This is the end of a more than decade-long battle over the future of these wild horses in an area of the Red Desert known as the Wyoming Checkerboard. It’s an area of alternating public and private land parcels one square mile in size. The Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA) controls the private land in the Checkerboard, and its members graze cattle and sheep on the public lands there. In 2011, the RSGA sued the BLM to force the elimination of wild horses from this area.

Now, 13 years later, the BLM is giving the RSGA what it wants. And the agency is asking American taxpayers to pay for it! Millions of our tax dollars will be spent to clear the public lands of wild horses for commercial livestock grazing, an activity taxpayers also subsidize. 

Not on our watch. As our lawsuit clearly lays out, this government-funded land grab by private grazing interests violates three federal laws. Among them: the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which mandates protection of wild horses, while livestock grazing on public lands is a discretionary activity. 

This legal fight will not be easy or quick, but it is crucial to the future of Wyoming’s wild horses! Will you help us sustain this critical effort today by donating?

FUEL OUR LEGAL FUND

For more than a decade, AWHC has been litigating against the RSGA and the BLM to hold off what would be the largest-ever eradication of federally-protected wild horses and their habitat. In this time, we:

  • Stopped the BLM from surgically sterilizing mares in this area.
  • Won lawsuits stopping the BLM from treating the public lands as private.
  • Defeated rancher claims that the BLM must round up horses immediately when their populations exceed management level.
  • Blocked the BLM from rounding up more horses than legally allowed by omitting foals from removal totals.

Now the legal battle has reached its final stage, and we’re leveraging everything we’ve got.

Simply put: We are in this to win. Will you please donate towards our efforts today?

FUEL OUR LEGAL FUND

This is not a battle about management. There’s a better way to manage wild horses with fertility control instead of roundups. Wild horses can be managed on Checkerboard lands through landswaps that create continguos blocks of public land for habitat.

This fight is about challenging the government’s elevation of private special interests above the public interest and the law.

Most of all, it’s about preserving the magnificent wild horses of Wyoming’s Red Desert as an irreplaceable natural treasure and iconic part of the West.

Together, we can win this fight. As always, thank you for standing with us.

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild horse Campaign

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

BREAKING: Major wild horse legislation was just introduced in Congress >>

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

BREAKING: Today, a bipartisan group of wild horse champions in Congress, Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced major reform legislation. 

The bill introduced, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Protection Act of 2022, is a monumental step forward in protecting wild horses and burros from federal mismanagement. Help us pass it by urging your member of Congress to cosponsor the bill now. →

ACT NOW

 

This bill calls for MAJOR reform to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) Wild Horse and Burro Programs including: 

  • Repealing the Burns Amendment, which amended the original 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to allow for the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros.
  • Ending the cash incentives for adoption that are resulting in droves of wild horses and burros entering the slaughter pipeline.
  • Preventing killing as a population control method and restricting the use of euthanasia to only life-threatening conditions.
  • Prioritizing humane population management with tools like fertility control rather than inhumane helicopter roundups and removals.
  • Encouraging partnerships with military veterans and non-governmental organizations in the name of keeping wild horses and burros wild.
  • AND MORE!

As the Fiscal Year 2023 roundup targets will be announced any day now, it’s clear that we need to pass this bill and FAST as more and more horses face uncertain futures in holding facilities, or worse, are killed during a helicopter capture operation. We need your help to do this. Act now by sending a message to your U.S. Representative and ask them to cosponsor this important piece of legislation. →

SEND A MESSAGE

Since its passage in 1971, the original Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act has been weakened by amendments meant to benefit private interests. It’s time to take back control of the legislative agenda for wild horses and pass a bill that addresses the most pressing crises facing wild horses and burros right now.

We’re extremely proud this bill has been introduced, but now we need other members of Congress to add their support to protect these innocent animals. Urge your member of Congress to cosponsor this monumental bill now!

ACT NOW

Thanks!

— AWHC Team

ACT NOW: BLM targets the ONLY designated wild burro range in the west!

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking public input for a proposed roundup of the historic wild burros of the Marietta Wild Burro Range in Mineral County, Nevada.

The Marietta Wild Burro Range was publicly dedicated by the BLM Director in 1991 for the 20th anniversary of passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Marietta is the BLM’s only wild burro range, and means that the area will be “principally” managed for the animals.

The Range is home to an estimated 400-500 burros. However, the agency set an unscientifically low appropriate management level (AML) of just 78-104 wild burros on the 68,000-acre range, threatening the genetic viability of the herd.

These burros need your voice NOW. Will you speak up for the Marietta Range wild burros right away by submitting comments to the BLM in strong opposition to this proposed plan?

BE THEIR VOICE →

The agency’s current proposed action is to round up and remove most of the Marietta Range burros. This means that if the plan goes through, the BLM will put hundreds of these animals at risk of serious injury and death through its brutal and inhumane helicopter roundups.

Further, the BLM is ignoring recent scientific evidence that shows that wild burros dig wells in their environments, actually boosting the availability of water in desert landscapes across the American Southwest!

We can’t allow the BLM to endanger the lives of these wild burros, Meredith. If you oppose this disastrous plan, speak up and submit your comments to the BLM now!

TAKE ACTION →

Thank you,

American Wild Horse Campaign

Only ONE WEEK LEFT to get tickets for our annual Stay Wild Event !!

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

We’re officially one week out from our Annual Stay Wild Fundraiser!! If you haven’t had a chance to get your tickets yet, now is the time to do so!

GET YOUR TICKETS >>

Join us as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act — the foundational law that protects these cherished animals on Western public lands.

The virtual event will include inspiring pieces on America’s wild horses and burros, special appearances including celebrity ambassadors, like Kaitlynn Carter of MTV’s The Hills, shoe designer Chloe Gosselin, and musicians like the award-winning pop duo Aly and AJ!

The event also includes a knock-your-boots-off Silent Auction featuring items like a beachfront vacation in beautiful Santa Barbara, a trip to see wild horses on Nevada’s beautiful Fish Springs range, VIP tickets to a night of grand illusion at David Copperfield’s Las Vegas show, incredible wild horse photography, and so much more!

GET YOUR TICKETS >>

This is our ONLY big-ticket event of the year, so you don’t want to miss it!

We hope to see you there! And remember, Stay Wild!

American Wild Horse Campaign

Don’t get colt feet 🐎 … join us on November 4th for our annual Stay Wild event!!

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

We’re less than a month out from the American Wild Horse Campaign’s (AWHC) annual Stay Wild event! Are you coming?

On November 4, celebrity ambassadors, top philanthropists, conservationists, and members of the public will come together for our annual virtual event streamed live from San Francisco.

This is our ONLY big-ticket event of the year, so we can promise you won’t want to miss this!! 

GET YOUR TICKETS >>

The fourth annual event will be an action-packed adventure, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act — the foundational law that protects these iconic animals on Western public lands.

We’ll take guests on a journey through time, stopping at landmark years to see how AWHC’s initiatives are working to end decades-old issues — for good.

Don’t get colt feet  … join us on November 4th for this awesome event!!

GET YOUR TICKETS >>

Stay wild!
— AWHC Team

A special invitation

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

We’re almost a month out from the American Wild Horse Campaign’s (AWHC) annual Stay Wild event!

Happening on November 4, the event will bring together celebrity ambassadors, top philanthropists, conservationists, and members of the public in a virtual event to be streamed live from San Francisco. You won’t want to miss this incredible event — it’s our only big-ticket event of the year!

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE >>

The fourth annual event will be an action-packed adventure, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act — the foundational law that protects these iconic animals on Western public lands. Guests will embark on a journey through time, stopping at landmark years to see how AWHC’s initiatives are working to end decades-old issues — for good. 

The Gala will raise funds for our lifesaving programs that ensure America’s wild horses and burros stay wild for generations to come.

We can’t wait for the event — and we hope that we’ll see you there! 

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE >>

Stay wild! 

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign

SAVE THE DATE: Our Annual Stay Wild event is happening on November 4th!!

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

It’s almost time for the American Wild Horse Campaign’s (AWHC) annual Stay Wild event!

Mark your calendars for November 4, because you won’t want to miss this awesome virtual event. It’s our largest —and only — big-ticket event of the year!  

The fourth annual event will be an action-packed adventure, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act — the foundational law that protects these iconic animals on Western public lands! 

The program will take guests on a journey through time, stopping at landmark years throughout the last half-century showing how AWHC’s precedent-setting initiatives are working to solve decades-old issues to protect America’s wild horses and burros.

We’ll be in touch with more information and how to RSVP for the event in the coming weeks, so stay tuned and stay wild!

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign

Help us enact lasting change for wild horses and burros

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

The roundup of the beloved wild horses from the Onaqui Herd Management Area (HMA) in Utah has officially ended. In total, 435 mustangs were captured, and there was one death of a young mare who suffered a severely broken leg after she was likely kicked in the chaos of the trap.

Approximately 135 Onaqui horses will be released back into the wild and our friends at the Onaqui Catalogue Foundation are using their comprehensive database of the Onaqui herd to assist the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in making the best decisions possible about which horses to return based on thoughtful criteria like keeping family bands together.

We are devastated, heartbroken, but more importantly we are fired up to fight harder than ever. The unnecessary mass roundup of most of the Onaqui wild horses has launched a rallying cry for true change. 

ACT NOW FOR WILD HORSES >>

For 50 years, the BLM has all but ignored the will of the American people who want humane management of our Western herds. It has flipped the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act on its head, and instead of protecting these animals from “capture, harassment, and death,” its outdated management practices actively harm these beloved animals. What’s worse — Congress has granted the agency more than $100 million dollars to continue on with this woefully mismanaged program with no restrictions to prevent the BLM from using the funds to roundup more horses without implementing real change. 

But we have an opportunity to change course during the next federal budget cycle. In fact, the U.S. House of Representatives is set to pass Fiscal Year 22 appropriations legislation that includes language, championed by AWHC and U.S Representatives Dina Titus, Steve Cohen, and Mark Pocan, to require the BLM to allocate at least $11 million to implement humane fertility control as a step toward eliminating cruel roundups and evaluate relocating these federally protected animals as an alternative to their removal from the range. Very soon, the Senate Appropriations Committee will also consider this protective language.

Time is of the essence. Join us in a day of action for the Onaqui wild horses who lost their freedom, for Velma Johnston, aka “Wild Horse Annie,” whose work contributed to federal wild horse protection 50 years ago, and for the millions of Americans who want wild horses and burros to be protected and preserved on our public lands for generations to come.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

  1. Click here to send an email to your Senators today. Then, follow up the email with a call.
  2. Download this graphic and upload it to the Interior Department and the White House Facebook pages.
  3. Click here to send an automated Tweet to President Biden and Secretary Haaland.

Let’s harness the outrage over the roundup of the Onaqui wild horses to make lasting change today!

ACT NOW FOR WILD HORSES >>

Thank you for standing with us and with wild horses,

Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign

EMERGENCY ALERT: Danger on Capitol Hill

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

I’m sorry to have to give you some devastating news. In the wee hours of Monday morning, Congress released a 1,600+ page spending bill for 2017. Buried on page 804 is Section 116, which allows the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to strip wild horses and burros of federal protection and “immediately” transfer them to state and local governments for use as “work animals.”

But with no definition of work animal, and no limit to the number of horses and burros that can be transferred, this language could provide a back door route to killing thousands of these national legacy animals. Although Congress added language prohibiting commercial slaughter and putting some restrictions on “euthanasia,” signalling its intent to prevent the killing of healthy horses. However, ambiguities and loopholes in the language leave it open to abuse. Especially at risk are the older mustangs and burros, now protected under federal law. Under the language these majestic, elder animals could be killed simply due to “advanced age,” a term that is undefined.

We can’t let this stand…Congress should not be allowed to undermine the will of the American people and a unanimously-passed Act of Congress – the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act – through a last-minute spending bill. 

We have just hours to make our voices heard… Please click below NOW to call and send a message to key appropriators asking them to strip this devastating provision that could result in the killing of thousands – and potentially tens of thousands — of America’s cherished wild horses and burros.

If you do one thing for wild horses and burros, please do this now!