The BLM’s wild horse and burro holding system is on the brink >>
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Right now, over 60,000 wild horses and burros are being held in captivity by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) – and the agency plans to round up THOUSANDS more in the coming months. Rush a donation now and help us fight back to keep these innocent animals in the wild where they belong!
THIS is the reality for over 60,000 formerly free-roaming wild horses and burros:
Tens of thousands of innocent animals crammed into corrals with no shade or room to run, vulnerable to deadly disease outbreaks and in danger of being funneled into the slaughter pipeline via the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) – all at a hefty cost of over $80 million to American taxpayers every year.
We know it doesn’t have to be like this. Through our fertility control program on Nevada’s Virginia Range, we’ve been proving for over four years that there IS a better way to manage our nation’s wild horses and burros, one that keeps them out of these overcrowded facilities and in the wild where they’re meant to be.
Thank you,
AWHC Team
Thank you for standing with us
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
As you know, AWHC has been advocating for SB90, a bill in the Nevada state legislature that would designate the wild mustang as the official state horse. Despite passing in the state Senate by a bipartisan vote of 18-3, SB90 unfortunately did not receive a vote in the Assembly before the deadline and therefore will not proceed in the legislative process this session.
Going into this, we knew getting SB90 passed would be a challenging process. There is a small but well-funded special interest coalition advocating against wild horses in Nevada, and the legislative process itself is not easy to move any bill through. In fact, 40 other bills were not brought to a vote in time either.
But in the face of vocal trophy hunters, wildlife trappers, and ranchers — you spoke up, took action, and exemplified the spirit of the wild mustangs we fight so hard to protect — wildly determined, unwilling to back down, and fiercely protective.
Your advocacy efforts and support for our cause helped open the door for a broader conversation in Nevada about the need for collaborative solutions to humanely and sustainably protect wild horses and burros.
We believe the bill should have become law to rightfully name the wild mustang as Nevada’s official state horse. So moving forward, we will focus efforts on growing our grassroots and political base in this crucial wild horse state — and you’ll undoubtedly play a significant role in that effort.
We will continue to work to advance legislation that reflects the will of the 86% of Nevadans who view wild mustangs as a symbol of the state and want to see them protected. And we’ll continue our work to advocate for improved management that is humane, sustainable, and fiscally responsible. Our wild mustangs and burros are worth fighting for.
Thank you for being in this fight with us.
— AWHC Team Nevada
On billboards, on TV screens, and across the country →
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Support for the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) and our mission to protect and preserve America’s cherished wild horses and burros has grown tremendously over the past several years — largely because more and more Americans are learning about the mismanagement these innocent wild animals face every day.
As the nation’s leading organization in the fight to keep wild horses and burros wild, we’ve taken great strides over the last decade to inform the American public about how their tax dollars are being used to unnecessarily round up and confine for life these once-wild animals.
If we’ve learned one thing as an organization, it’s that once people learn about the plight of wild horses and burros, they are upset, frustrated, and ready to take action to protect them. That’s why I joined AWHC’s team last year, aiming to help elevate this issue to new levels. Last summer, we did just that when we launched There’s A Better Way — an awareness campaign spanning the West to inform Americans about the tragedies facing wild horses and burros right in their backyards.To power more awareness efforts like this campaign, will you make a donation to fuel AWHC’s work today?
We deployed billboards, digital ads, a TV commercial, took over local newspapers, and even had a mobile billboard that drove around Capitol Hill and the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. aimed at pressuring lawmakers to enact further wild horse protections. This year, we’ve expanded our efforts to different states — in Nevada and North Dakota, we’re fighting to preserve herds integral to each state’s history.
This critical work has helped us grow our supporter base to 230,000+, send over 520,000 messages to the federal government demanding wild horse protections, and receive over 1,100 mentions in the media promoting our work and this cause.
The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) wild horse and burro holding system is nearing its breaking point with more than 60,000 horses in captivity. 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?
Thank you,
Scott Wilson
Director of Strategy
American Wild Horse Campaign
![Happy Burro Awareness Month! We wanted to take some time today to educate you about the rich history of our beloved burros and how you can help them right now! Originating in Africa, burros were first introduced to the Southwest by the Spaniards in the 1500s. They would go on to serve as reliable pack animals for the workers of the West in the centuries thereafter – including during the Gold Rush, when they were praised for laboring tirelessly to carry supplies, ore, water, and machinery to mining camps. Their work shaped the West as we know it. At the end of the mining boom, many burros escaped or were turned loose, and with their innate ability to survive under the harshest conditions, wild herds eventually formed and flourished. America’s burros are protected under federal law, but they are in crisis due to government mismanagement that has caused dwindling numbers, lack of genetic diversity and inbreeding. Despite this, government roundups continue – including in Arizona's Black Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA), which is home to the largest and most genetically diverse burro herd in the country. Last spring, over 1,100 of these burros were subjected to a brutal helicopter roundup — a dangerous change from the usual “bait and water” burro roundup operations. We’re fighting on the Hill, in the courts, and in the field to protect these cherished animals. Will you fuel our work to protect America’s beloved wild burros today? [[DONATE]]](https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/26MnGUFJuvaz9YEA0krHP3ByzuxF37HZS_tnk4YNAHZ0X-UwWuK4nlXVd39LDUKZMQqY7QiGp8JXmrUccygrmkh7xoGuc3Uj4EHFZtCYjONRz0YqdXQBpSSHJPiCFVNnlve70oBjfgDMbYb_gYg=s0-d-e1-ft#https://prod.cdn.everyaction.com/images/van/EA/EA002/1/67303/images/burroawareness_full.png)
ICYMI: We just sued the BLM to stop the eradication of WY wild horses
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
We’ve got a lot to share with you in this week’s edition of eNews, including an opportunity to speak out against the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) inhumane use of helicopters during wild horse and burro roundups, an update on our fight to defend the iconic wild horses of the Wyoming Checkerboard, and more!
Read on to learn more! >>
Speak Out Against the Use of Helicopters for Wild Horse and Burro Removals
Photo by Brian Clopp for AWHC
On May 24, 2023, the BLM will hold a legally-mandated virtual meeting on the use of helicopters and other motorized vehicles in wild horse and burro management. These meetings provide an important opportunity for public input into the BLM’s roundup and removal Wild Horse and Burro Program.
AWHC and Coalition Takes BLM to Court Over Wyoming Wild Horse Plan
Photo of Salt Well horses by Kimerlee Curyl
On Wednesday, the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC), Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Western Watersheds Project, author and Casper College instructor Dr. Chad Hanson, and wildlife photographers Kimerlee Curyl and Carol Walker filed suit against the U.S. Department of the Interior over a federal plan that would result in the largest-ever eradication of federally protected wild horses and the elimination of 43% of designated wild horse habitat in the Red Desert area of Wyoming.
The lawsuit is the culmination of a decade-long battle to defend the wild horses of the Wyoming Checkerboard against demands by the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA) to remove these animals from more than 2 million acres of land in the southwestern part of the state. Click the link below to read more.
Colorado Lawmakers Create Model for Future Wild Horse Management
Photo by Somer McCain for AWHC
Recently, the Colorado General Assembly passed SB23-275, also known as the Colorado Wild Horse Project, and sent it to Governor Polis’ desk for signature. This bill, supported by AWHC and other wild horse protection and environmental groups, invests in a humane and cost-effective alternative to the inhumane roundups that have reduced Colorado wild horse herds over the past several years.
SB23-275 is a significant step forward in the long term conservation of Colorado’s wild horses, dedicating $1.5 million in state resources to support the work of existing – but traditionally underfunded – local wild horse volunteer groups focused on sustaining wild horse populations through robust fertility control and habitat stewardship programs. Click the link below to read more.
Save the Burros! Shop to Show Your Support
Photo by Leslie Wasserman
In honor of Burro Awareness Month, we have created two designs to help raise awareness about our long-eared friends! By supporting these apparel items, you will continue to support the work of the American Wild Horse Campaign and our efforts to keep wild burros wild.
Thanks for reading. And thank you for continuing to stand up for our cherished wild horses and burros!
— AWHC Team
We just sued the BLM to save WY wild horses!
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.
| 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.
Together, we can win this fight. As always, thank you for standing with us.
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild horse Campaign
Wild horses win in Colorado!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
We have exciting news!
This week, the Colorado General Assembly passed SB23-275, also known as the Colorado Wild Horse Project, and sent it to Governor Polis’ desk for his signature.
This bill, supported by AWHC and other wild horse protection and environmental groups, invests in a humane and cost-effective alternative to the cruel roundups that have reduced Colorado’s wild horse herds over the past several years.
SB23-275 is a significant step forward in the long term conservation of Colorado’s wild horses, dedicating $1.5 million in state resources to support the work of existing – but traditionally underfunded – local wild horse volunteer groups focused on sustaining wild horse populations through robust fertility control and habitat stewardship programs.
The bill creates a broad stakeholder working group to make recommendations for responsible placement options for wild horses who have been removed from the range, and is a model for positive and collaborative state involvement to improve the humane management of these federally-protected animals across the West.
The Wild Horse Project is an outgrowth of public opposition to the last two years of government helicopter roundups in Colorado, which removed 1,800 wild horses from their habitats and led to the preventable deaths of 149 of these state icons in overcrowded holding pens.
Colorado’s political leaders – representing broad constituencies that include wild horse advocates, environmentalists, and ranching interests – came together in response. We are thankful to Governor Polis, First Gentleman Marlon Reis, House Majority Leader Monica Duran, House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, Senator Joann Ginal, and Senator Perry Will, for working on a bipartisan basis toward a better way to care for and protect Colorado’s majestic wild horse herds.
We believe that Majority Leader Monica Duran said it best when she testified for the bill:
“… In Colorado, we love our horses. They are central to our state’s history and culture…after the two helicopter roundups that occurred in our state, there was an outcry. And this bill is an answer to that outcry.”
Please help us spread the word about this important step forward for our cause! Here are two ways you can help us get the news out:
| SHARE THIS WIN ON FACEBOOK |
| SHARE THIS WIN ON TWITTER |
Thank you to all the citizens and organizations who took action to support this game changing legislation – this win would not have been possible without your support. Our collective herd of advocates is strong, and when we all band together, we succeed!
Thank you for standing with our wild herds in the fight for their future.
– American Wild Horse Campaign
Help us keep our billboard live in Nevada!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
As you may know, over the last few months our team here at AWHC has been working hard to support key state legislation in Nevada called SB90. This bipartisan bill would designate the wild mustang as Nevada’s official state horse!
The wild mustang has an undeniably significant place in Nevada’s history and culture, and is a major ecotourism resource for the state. The passage of this bill would be a huge step towards recognizing the animal’s importance to the Silver State.
SB90 recently passed in the State Senate, and will soon be heard by the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs before heading to a final vote in the full Assembly. But unfortunately, hunters, trappers, and ranchers who want wild horses eradicated from public lands they call home have come out in full force against this legislation.
That’s why we’ve put up this billboard on US 395 in Nevada — to inspire the public about the true spirit of Nevada and raise awareness and support for this bill!
| KEEP OUR BILLBOARD LIVE → |
This bill is by no means controversial. Nevada already has a state bird, flower — even a rock — but no state horse, despite the significance of the wild mustang to the culture and history of the state.
As the home to over half of the nation’s wild horses, these iconic animals are celebrated in literature and art, memorialized in the names of businesses, school mascots, and neighborhoods, and adorn countless statues along Nevada’s roadways.
| KEEP OUR BILLBOARD LIVE → |
Thank you,
AWHC Team
It’s Burro Awareness Month!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
It’s the first day of May – and you know what that means – the first day of Burro Awareness Month!
AWHC started Burro Awareness Month over a decade ago to highlight the beauty of one of our favorite equine species, the curious wild burros of the American Southwest, and to educate the public about the unique struggles they face.
Originating in Africa, burros were first introduced to the Southwest by the Spaniards in the 1500s. They would go on to serve as reliable pack animals for explorers and pioneers on their treks throughout the West in the centuries thereafter, surviving even when the harsh conditions claimed the lives of their human partners. Today, most of America’s wild burros reside in Arizona, where they’ve been present since 1679!
Despite having the same rich history and cultural significance as wild horses, burros unfortunately receive far less attention. That’s why it’s about time we make Burro Awareness Month a national holiday! Will you join us in calling for May to become nationally-recognized as Burro Awareness Month by signing our petition below?
| SIGN THE PETITION → |
Over the next few weeks, we’re going to focus on all things pertaining to our beloved burros. And today, we’d like to kick things off with an amazing update about our latest burro rescues, Poppy and Cosmo!
Last week, we told you about the heartwarming story of these two precious little animals. With just hours left before potentially being sold off to kill buyers at the Eugene Livestock Auction, AWHC Investigations Manager Amelia Perrin managed to beat out other bidders and save Poppy and Cosmo before it was too late.
Now, thanks to your support, our furry new friends have arrived safely at 3 Sisters Equine Refuge where they can finally decompress, get vet and farrier care, and play freely to their heart’s content. See for yourself!
We are so proud that we were able to rescue Poppy and Cosmo – but there are many more burros out there that need our help, and not enough people who know about it. We’re sure that if more people learned about these beautiful creatures, they would get the attention and care they deserve! So this May, we are once again asking for your help to spread the word about our beloved wild burros. Will you sign on to our petition today to help make Burro Awareness Month a nationally-recognized holiday?
| SIGN THE PETITION → |
Thanks!
AWHC Team
ICYMI: The BLM has finally released its 2023 roundup schedule
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
We’ve got a lot to share with you in this week’s edition of eNews, including the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) recently released 2023 roundup schedule, an inside look at a BLM adoption event in New Hampshire, and an open call to all burro lovers!
Read on to learn more! >>
Bureau of Land Management Releases 2023 Roundup Schedule and On-Range Population Numbers
Photo: Tandin Chapman
It’s officially here. After a several month delay, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finally released its 2023 roundup schedule for wild horse and burros last week. While the target number is a marked departure from the initial planned number of 20,000, when all is said and done, more than 5,800 wild horses and burros will be added to the already overburdened holding corrals. In addition to the release of this schedule, the BLM is asserting that there is a slight increase in the on-range population, but we have questions. Check out our latest on this development below.
| LEARN MORE |
Eyewitness Report: BLM Adoption Event in New Hampshire
Photo: Mary Koncel
Last weekend, AWHC program specialist, Mary Koncel, traveled to Vermont to attend and document a BLM wild horse and burro adoption event at the Cheshire Fairgrounds in Swanzey, New Hampshire. This was the first of several adoption/sales events that will be held in the Northeastern States District of the BLM. Click the link below to read more.
| READ MORE |
Calling All Burro Fans! Submit Your Content to be Featured
Photo: Tara Arrowood/MCR
Wild burros have the same rich history and are just as culturally significant as wild horses, but they receive far less attention. In 2012, AWHC started Burro Awareness Month to promote awareness and appreciation for these amazing and unique residents of the American Southwest. Do you have photos of wild burros that you would like to share? A story about an experience you had on the range? Please submit your content to grace@americanwildhorsecampaign.org to be featured during the month of May on AWHC’s social media!
| SUBMIT YOUR CONTENT! |
Thanks for reading. And thank you for continuing to stand up for our cherished wild horses and burros!
— AWHC Team
[IT’S HERE!] Today is National Help a Horse Day 🐴💞
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
In honor of National Help a Horse Day, we set a goal of raising $30K by midnight tonight to power our fight to defend our nation’s wild herds in 2023. Right now, we’re at $21,548 — within striking distance of our goal — can you help us get across the finish line by pitching in ASAP?
Happy National Help a Horse Day!
Today, and every day, our team is fighting to secure the freedom and safety of wild horses and burros across the West. On Monday, we told you about one avenue of our work — rescues — but today, we want to highlight how we’re helping horses through our legal and legislative efforts.
Already this year, we’ve made great strides for our wild herds both on the Hill and in state capitols throughout the country:
- In North Dakota, we supported a resolution that passed in the state legislature urging the National Park Service to keep the state’s only wild horse herd in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. (SCR 4014).
- In Nevada, we rallied public support and testified for legislation that just passed in the state Senate that would make the wild mustang Nevada’s official state horse. (SB90).
- In Colorado, we supported legislation that just passed the state Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee that would increase resources to support the work of existing volunteer groups to maintain sustainable wild horse populations through a robust fertility control and stewardship program, minimizing the need for future roundups. (SB23-275).
- And on Capitol Hill, we’ve won the support of nearly 100 members of Congress who are calling for the diversion of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) funds away from costly roundups and toward humane management and other important measures in the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill.
| POWER OUR WORK → |
But that’s not all. We’re stepping up for wild horses in the courtroom as well:
- Right now, we’re gearing up to take the BLM to court over its proposed plan to zero-out two iconic wild horse herds in Wyoming and eliminate grand swaths of their habitat, a case with the potential to set a precedent for herds throughout the West.
- We’re also pushing forward in our ongoing legal battle against the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which is sending thousands of wild horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline. In our case, we allege that the agency implemented the AIP without any of the analysis and public comment required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Friend, we wouldn’t be able to do any of this critical work without your support. Your generosity allows us to stand up on behalf of wild horses and burros everywhere. That’s why this National Help a Horse Day, we’re asking you to make a contribution of whatever you can afford to help us reach our $30k goal and fuel our fight to defend our precious wild herds in 2023. As of now, we’re only $8,452 away – so if everyone reading this pitches in, we can hit our goal before the deadline at midnight!
| HELP US REACH OUR GOAL! |
Thank you for standing with our wild herds, and Happy National Help a Horse Day!
AWHC Team
The BLM just announced their 2023 Roundup Plans. Help us fight back >>
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) unveiled its schedule to continue the unscientific and inhumane helicopter roundups of our nation’s iconic, federally protected wild horse and burro herds.
The BLM announced that it’s planning to round up more than 7,000 wild horses and burros from our public lands beginning in July – permanently removing 5,857.
There are already over 60,000 wild horses and burros languishing in overburdened BLM holding centers as a result of the agency’s aggressive 2022 removal schedule. If the BLM follows through with its recently released plan, thousands more of these innocent animals will be subjected to brutal helicopter roundups and crammed into crowded facilities where they are in danger of deadly disease outbreaks and where many could be funneled into the slaughter pipeline via the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP).
That’s why it’s critical we prepare NOW to ensure we’re ready to fight back for our wild herds – whether it’s in the field through our efforts to implement in-the-wild humane management across the West, in courts through our legal team, or on the Hill through our government relations work. With just one day left, we are nearly halfway to our $30,000 National Help a Horse Day goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us reach our goal before the deadline tomorrow and bolster our efforts to defend wild horses and burros in 2023?
| DONATE NOW → |
In December, Congress included an important bipartisan provision in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriations bill requiring the BLM to utilize up to $11 million for reversible fertility control to sustainably manage wild horses and burros – marking the second year we’ve managed to secure this critical pro-horse and burro language into the omnibus package, and the third year our work has led to Congress recognizing the importance of the expansion of humane fertility control programs.
Despite this, the BLM plans to implement fertility control on just 1,575 wild horses and burros. This is nowhere near enough. The BLM must meaningfully shift course away from inhumane roundups and towards on-range conservation through the use of proven fertility control as a far more safe and cost-effective way of managing the West’s populations.
| FUEL OUR FIGHT → |
Thank you,
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign
IT’S EARTH DAY!! 🌎 3 ways to take action for wild horses and burros today…
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Happy Earth Day!
Admittedly, every day is Earth Day for our team at the American Wild Horse Campaign, BUT that doesn’t mean we won’t take the opportunity to celebrate a little extra on this day
Today, we invite you to join us in focusing on the protection of our beautiful planet and all of the amazing creatures who inhabit it — and we can think of no better way than doubling down on our commitment to our cherished wild horses and burros.
Here are 3 ways you can take action for our herds today:
- Over 60,000 mustangs and burros are stuck in government holding facilities.Recent welfare assessments at some of these facilities show widespread and concerning violations including facility maintenance, vaccine protocols, and inadequate access to food and water. Even more concerning, as more mustangs and burros are funneled into this overburdened system, disease outbreaks are becoming all the more common. Take action now to protect these captive animals!
| TAKE ACTION → |
- When people hear about what’s happening to wild horses, they care.We need you to help educate your friends and family about what is happening to our wild horses and burros right now! Take a second to share this video to your social media pages and get started!
| SHARE THE VIDEO → |
- We’re fighting to keep wild horses and burros wild, and every purchase you make with us helps fund that fight.Go wild this Earth Day with our apparel and partnerships!
| SHOP FOR WILD HORSES → |
Every single day, our team sees firsthand the threats that wild horses and burros face — the dangerous Adoption Incentive Program, crowded and unsafe holding pens, and inhumane government management practices driven by private interests – not conservation experts.
The Bureau of Land Management’s current strategy for wild horses and burros is not a path forward, friend, it’s a path toward ecological destruction. And we can’t stand by and let it happen — please take action for those who don’t have a voice this Earth Day.
Onaqui Herd Mare and Foal Photo: Kimerlee Curyl
Thank you for standing with our wild herds. Happy Earth Day!
– AWHC Team
URGENT: Colorado’s wild horses need your voice RIGHT NOW
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
We need you to take immediate action for Colorado’s wild horses!
Right now, the Colorado Senate’s committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources is considering a forward-thinking bipartisan bill, Senate bill SB23-275. This piece of legislation has the potential to reduce the need for roundups and removals of Colorado’s wild horses by allocating $1.5M in state funding and resources to expand existing fertility control and on-range stewardship efforts.
With federal funds currently being directed towards managing an over-capacity crisis in wild horse and burro holding facilities and an inadequate investment in on-range conservation tools, this is Colorado’s best available option to keep more wild horses on the range and help to reduce the traumatic reactive cycle of large-scale helicopter roundups in future years. SB23-275 could put Colorado at the forefront of humane wild horse management in the West.
Meredith, SB23-275 will be heard tomorrow by the Senate’s committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources and your Senator is on the committee. Will you please take the following actions right now?
1. Call your Senator Janice Marchman at (303) 866-4835. You can say, “Hi, My name is [NAME] and I am calling from [TOWN/CITY] to ask that Senator [NAME] please vote to SUPPORT SB23-275, the Wild Horse Project. Thank you.”
2. Send an email by clicking here.
Your voice matters in Colorado. Please use it to speak up for our wild mustangs!
Thank you,
The AWHC Team
YOUR advocacy is making wins like this possible
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Thanks in large part to your advocacy on behalf of America’s cherished wild herds, your member of Congress just took huge steps to ensure wild horses and burros are protected in the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations bill.
First, we want to say thank you. Your continued action gives wild horses and burros a voice so that we can ensure their freedom and livelihood is always protected. Thanks to your work, Representative Joe Neguse just signed on to an important letter urging members of the House Interior Appropriations subcommittee to pass legislation in the FY24 Appropriations bill that would:
- Implement a substantial humane reversible immunocontraceptive fertility control vaccine program to manage wild horse and burro populations in the wild, including $11 million for these reversible fertility control vaccines.
- Prioritize partnerships with non-profit organizations, including working with military veterans and wild horse organizations.
- Evaluate relocating wild horses and burros to other Herd Management Areas (HMAs) to keep these animals on the range and out of off-range holding facilities.
- Consider humane alternatives to the use of helicopters.
- Maintain the ban that is intended to protect wild horses and burros from slaughter.
- Defund the cash incentive in the BLM’s “Adoption Incentive Program” and replace it with veterinary vouchers to help the BLM achieve its goal of increasing adoption rates, while also ensuring more humane outcomes for these animals.
| SEND A THANK YOU NOTE! |
Thanks for your help. We know with advocates like you by our side, more legislative wins for wild mustangs and burros are possible in 2024.
— AWHC Team
The Teddy Roosevelt wild horses desperately need our help
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
The only wild horse herd left in North Dakota is in serious danger. The Theodore Roosevelt National Park is home to a historic herd of wild horses that are believed to be descendants of Sitting Bull’s horses and are related to the rare Nokota breed – but the National Park Service (NPS) is considering plans that could potentially eliminate the herd in its entirety.
That’s why last month, we launched billboards in the nearby town of Dickinson to pressure park officials to abandon these disastrous plans before they’re finalized. The NPS is feeling the heat, but we can’t let up. We need to ensure these billboards stay up as long as possible. Can you help keep our billboards live by making a contribution today?
| KEEP OUR BILLBOARDS LIVE → |
These horses are integral to the scenery, native wildlife, and wilderness qualities of the park – the landscape that inspired President Theodore Roosevelt himself. The park is currently home to about 180 wild horses, but one of the plans NPS is considering seeks to significantly reduce the population of the herd to an unsustainable 35-60 horses. Even worse, another plan being considered seeks to expedite the reduction of the population to zero!
This is unacceptable. We know the horses already have the support of North Dakota officials, including the Governor and the state legislature, as well as the support of local media and residents. And thankfully, our billboards are even starting to bring national attention to this important issue:
| KEEP OUR BILLBOARDS LIVE → |
Thank you,
AWHC Team
URGENT: BLM plans to roundup Montana’s last wild herd!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
The wild horses who call Montana’s Pryor Mountain homedesperately need our help.
The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range is home to a herd of about 200 mustangs, and they’re the only herd of federally protected wild horses left in all of Montana. Now, the BLM is asking the public for input on a proposal that would reduce the size of this herd by more than half, destroy beloved family bands, and would threaten the genetic health of the entire herd.
The BLM is proposing a series of roundups that would reduce this strong herd of 200 down to just 90 horses, well below the genetic viability standard of 150 animals needed to maintain diversity. The consequences would be dire. In addition to breaking up the herd’s important familial structure, the horses’ unique Spanish colonial genetics would be lost forever.
If this proposed action gets implemented, it would be a disaster for the Pryor Mountain wild horses. Not only is this herd already managed by a fertility control program, but it’s located on one of only four designated wild horse and burro ranges in the country — land that is managed principally for wild horses and burros.
Thank you so much for your support,
AWHC Team
Making history on Nevada’s Virginia Range
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Yesterday marked four years since the start of our fertility control program on Nevada’s Virginia Range. To each and every one of you who donates to help fuel our continued efforts in Nevada and other Western states, volunteers to keep this program operating, or takes action in the emails we send to keep these horses safe — I want to say thank you.
Since we restarted our work on the Virginia Range in 2019, it’s become a landmark program — the largest of its kind for wild horses anywhere in the world. We’re proving there IS a better way that is humane, cost-effective, and doesn’t rely on brutally rounding up and removing thousands of wild horses and burros from their homes. Our experience on the Virginia Range has helped to educate the media and Congress about the alternatives to the costly and cruel mass roundup and stockpile cycle.
And it’s working. The results of our fertility control program have helped us to secure language in the federal spending bill for three years in a row that reallocates Bureau of Land Management (BLM) funding away from helicopter roundups and toward humane alternatives. And now, we have the opportunity to expand our programs to other herds across the West — helping to keep even more innocent wild horses safe and free from a future of captivity.
Friends, this program would not be a success without the dozens of volunteers who brave all kinds of weather and give their time to keep these iconic wild horses wild. And, it would not be possible without the generosity of our supporters, who provide us with the resources necessary to power this work.
I’m so proud of every AWHC staff member, volunteer, and supporter for making a program like this possible!
Thank you for all that you do to support our cause,
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign
SPEAK UP: Tell the DOI and BLM to address animal welfare violations!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
We’ve got a lot to share with you in this week’s edition of eNews, including an opportunity for you to speak up on behalf of captured wild horses and burros suffering in holding facilities, an article discussing a fascinating new study into the history of horses in North America, and an invitation to a fun-filled day at Montgomery Creek Ranch!
Read on to learn more! >>
Tell the DOI and BLM: Address Violations in Wild Horse and Burro Holding Facilities
Under a directive from Congress, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been conducting various animal welfare assessments at holding facilities across the West. These internal reviews show widespread violations including understaffing, lack of timely vaccination of captured horses brought into confinement, inaccurate and inadequate recordkeeping, inadequate access to hay and/or water for all horses, horses in poor body condition, and issues related to construction and maintenance. With more than 62,000 wild horses and burros currently incarcerated in these facilities we urge you to write to the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the BLM and demand change today!
Indigenous groups in the American West lived alongside horses by the early 1600s, study finds
Photo: Buyenlarge/Getty Images
A new study published last week in the journal Science, finds that horses of European descent had been integrated into indigenous cultures across western North America long before the arrival of Europeans in that region. The study found that the horses were present in the American West and Southwest several decades before the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 – when allied Indigenous groups pushed Spanish colonizers out of New Mexico. Read more on the fascinating results below!
You’re Invited to a Day at Montgomery Creek Ranch!
On Saturday, April 15, AWHC Board President Ellie Phipps Price, her husband Chris and their team will open the gates of their private sanctuary and adoption center, Montgomery Creek Ranch for a fun-filled day!
- Tour the 2,000-acre sanctuary in off-road vehicles to experience the beauty of 200 wild horses roaming free and hear their stories;
- Meet and greet with the friendly crew of wild burros from Arizona;
- Watch a training session with one of MCR’s young mustangs;
- Enjoy a delicious lunch… and more!
Thanks for reading. And thank you for continuing to stand up for our cherished wild horses and burros!
— AWHC Team
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