Wild Mustang/Burro Campaigns

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Horses and Burros Act on its head, and instead of protecting these animals from “capture, harassment, and death,” its outdated management practices actively harm these beloved animals.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 ...
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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: Late last night, advocates around the world waited with bated breath as we learned that the roundup of the beloved wild horses of the Onaqui Herd Management Area (HMA) had been postponed for another day. This was the second time in five days that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) postponed the roundup because of a pending federal court decision. This morning, a federal judge denied an animal rights groups' motion for an injunction to stop the roundup. The BLM then announced that the roundup will begin tomorrow. Our work to reform the costly and cruel wild horse program doesn't stop here, however. Can you sign our petition to the Biden Administration calling for meaningful reform to keep wild horses and burros in the wild where they belong? SIGN THE PETITION   Collectively, wild horse organizations threw everything we had at the effort to halt this roundup.  AWHC launched SaveOnaqui.com to mobilize our grassroots army, which resulted in thousands of messages sent to both Congress and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. We garnered 50,000 petition signatures and hand-delivered them to the U.S. Department of the Interior. We worked with actress Katherine Heigl on developing and delivering letters to Congress. We held a virtual rally attended by hundreds of people around the world. And, we worked with our friends at Western Watersheds Project to develop a detailed, scientifically-based proposa for long-term management of the Onaqui wild horses, which was reviewed at the highest levels of the BLM. We want you to know that while we did not stop this roundup, our collective voices have been heard. The BLM understands the high public interest in protecting this herd and has committed to working on a collaborative plan to humanely and sustainably manage the iconic Onaqui horses and protect the public’s interest in viewing them. This morning, AWHC’s Field Correspondent Kimerlee Curyl was with the Onaqui herd documenting what will likely be the last moments of freedom for many of these cherished mustangs.   WATCH & DONATE  These heartbreaking images only strengthen our resolve, but not just to ensure that this is the last helicopter roundup that ever takes place in the Onaqui HMA. We're also working nonstop to reform the entire roundup-and-stockpile system that is leading to slaughter for far too many of these cherished animals. Thanks to the many photographs who follow this herd, we know the Onaqui wild horses as individuals and ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: We have big news: The House Interior Appropriations Committee just passed the Fiscal Year 2022 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 passed, the legislation will continue the ban on slaughtering wild horses and burros and require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to:

1. Implement a substantial humane reversible immunocontraceptive fertility control program to manage wild horse and burro populations in the wild.
2. Evaluate relocating wild horses and burros to other Herd Management Areas (HMAs) to avoid removals and keep these animals on the range where they belong, and create a task force within the Interior Department to address wild horse and burro management.
3. Review the “Adoption Incentive Program,” (AIP) which was recently exposed by AWHC and the New York Times as a pipeline to slaughter for hundreds of these federally-protected animals.

This is a huge and historic step toward reforming the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program! It’s the culmination of AWHC’s hard work over the past several years — both on Capitol Hill, where we’re expanding support for humane wild horse and burro management, and in the field, where we’re demonstrating that humane management with fertility control works. Can you make a donation today to help us continue efforts like these to protect wild horses and burros? DONATE The bill also marks the first time that the House Interior Committee is requiring the BLM to pursue on-range management options, following years of advising the agency to do so… advice that the BLM has repeatedly ignored.  This extremely significant step toward eliminating cruel helicopter roundups has been achieved thanks to the leadership of Reps. Titus, Cohen, and Pocan, the unrelenting hard work of our Governmental Relations team, and the unwavering commitment of grassroots AWHC supporters like you! Our legislative efforts won’t stop here though. Our Governmental Relations team is working around the clock to convince the Senate to adopt similar language so that this important provision can become law. Can you chip in $10 or $20 now to aid our legislative efforts? DONATE While this is amazing news, Meredith, we still have more work to do. As written, the Committee bill would provide a total $162 million to the Wild Horse and Burro Program — a 40% increase from last year and significantly more than the ...
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