Wild Mustang/Burro Campaigns

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: As the nation’s leading wild horse and burro conservation organization, some of the most important work we do for our wild herds is in the courtroom. When evaluating potential litigation, there are many factors our expert legal teams consider, including the viability of legal action and the ramifications of winning or losing. We engage in litigation that protects the freedom and wellbeing of wild horses for years to come.  As you’re reading this, we're engaged in two significant lawsuits that challenge some of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s most harmful policies affecting wild horses and burros. One is over the alleged illegal implementation of the Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) and and the other is fighting to protect Wyoming's cherished wild herds from unwarranted removal – lawsuits that could shape the future of widespread wild horse management in the United States. The stakes could not be higher. These iconic animals cannot defend themselves in our legal system. It’s up to us to be their voice in the court of law. Can you chip in to AWHC’s Legal Fund to support these critical litigation efforts? DONATE In Wyoming, we're in the midst of a decade-long struggle against the demands of the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA) to remove wild horses from over 2 million acres in the southwestern area of the state. We’re up against very powerful interests who view wild horses as competitors to their private livestock on our public lands.  Recently, our legal team filed the opening merits brief in this lawsuit. This filing is a major step forward in the battle to protect Wyoming’s herds from being eradicated from their home range and to secure the protection that they are entitled to by Congressional law. “Because BLM has completely disregarded Congress’s unambiguous limitations on the agency’s public land removal authority, that alone is fatal to BLM’s decision to eradicate these wild horse herds, adjust their AMLs, and remove more than a thousand horses from the range.” – Opening Merits Brief The outcome of this case will not only affect the herds in Wyoming but could also set precedent that impacts wild horse populations across the West. We're at a pivotal moment, and your support has never been more important. Please make a contribution to our Legal Fund and help power our fight to protect America’s wild horses and burros in the courtroom. Together, we ...

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: For the past four years, our team has implemented the world’s largest wild horse humane fertility control program on Nevada’s Virginia Range. This groundbreaking initiative has proven that there IS a better way to humanely manage our nation’s wild horses. Today, we want to share a heartwarming story from the Virginia Range that illustrates the impact of your support for the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC). Meet Baldy – a beautiful pinto mare whose freedom and safety have been safeguarded thanks to AWHC's pioneering PZP fertility control program.  HELP PROTECT HORSES LIKE BALDY → With her colorful coat and spirited nature, Baldy embodies the untamed beauty of America's iconic wild horses. Since she had her last foal in 2020, Baldy has been thriving – in part, thanks to our fertility control efforts. She is a proud mother of three, contributing to the genetic diversity of her herd, and she shares a close bond with her four-year-old daughter, Laney, who remains with her in the same family band! Her story is possible thanks to your support for our innovative fertility control program. This program is more than just a humane way to manage wild horse populations; it's a lifeline for horses like Baldy. Across the West, federally protected horses are facing increased roundups this year as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) nearly tripled the number of wild horses and burros scheduled to be rounded up in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.  Without our fertility control program, Baldy and her herd would be at risk of being rounded up – and with no federal protections, they could be sold at slaughter auctions. It costs just $30 to fund a single dose of the fertility control vaccine, a small price to preserve a life of freedom and dignity for horses like Baldy. On this 30th of January, can you chip in $30 to help us continue this vital program? DONATE $30 TODAY We are proud to lead the way in wild horse conservation through hands-on, humane programs like this. But we cannot do it without you. Your donation today can make an immediate difference for our wild herds.  Every $30 we raise helps us administer a dose of this proven-safe and effective fertility control vaccine, directly impacting the lives of wild horses like Baldy. Help us keep them wild and free with a contribution today! DONATE $30 TODAY ...

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: On behalf of the entire American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) Observation Team, THANK YOU for supporting our roundup documentation work! This past week, you heard from us about the importance of our humane observation program – one of the most impactful tools we have at our disposal to ensure transparency and accountability during federal helicopter roundups. Well, thanks to the support of this incredible herd of advocates, we significantly recharged our Observation Fund! Thanks to you, we’ll not only be able to keep our humane observers who’ve already been deployed to the East Pershing Complex roundups in the field to continue their work, but also send more observers out to upcoming roundups in the months ahead.  That means more crucial evidence to provide to the media, the public, and to Congress that exposes the cruel realities of wild horse and burro roundups. Through our roundup observation work, and all of the other important programs you help power, we can and WILL show that there is a better way to conserve our precious wild herds. Thank you! – AWHC Observation Team ...

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: Over the past few days, we’ve told you about one very important aspect of our work here at the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) – documenting the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) inhumane helicopter roundups of our cherished wild horses and burros.  In the last three years alone, over 39,000 horses and burros across the West were captured and removed from the wild by the federal government. Now, over 20,000 of these innocent animals are slated for capture in Fiscal Year 2024. To document these roundups, AWHC has assembled and trained a team of photographers and videographers who are deployed to some of the most remote corners of the West where wild horses still roam and where these operations occur. The evidence they collect and the reports they compile are used to file complaints against the BLM’s actions, are provided to the media, and are used in our advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. The evidence we gather helps us establish an irrefutable pattern of cruelty and is a powerful motivator for change. Will you make a contribution today to fuel our Observation Fund and ensure no animal welfare violations go unrecorded? DONATE Oftentimes, our representatives are the ONLY ones onsite to document any violations taking place. That means it's critical that we have boots on the ground at as many of these roundups as possible.  The thing is this is grueling work. The days can be incredibly long, with start times as early as 4 AM and roundups going on from morning until dusk, sometimes amidst extreme heat or cold depending on the location of the operation. Watching these beautiful and innocent wild animals lose their freedom and families, day in and day out, is also emotionally draining for our observers. On top of all that, it’s expensive to get them to these remote areas. AWHC provides them with the funds they need to keep them equipped and in the field with four wheel drive vehicles and places to stay after such exhausting days. That means your support is what makes this critical work possible. So chip in whatever you can afford to our Observation Fund and help us hold our federal government accountable by documenting the often cruel reality of wild horse and burro roundups! POWER OUR WORK → Thank you, Team AWHC ...

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: Thanks to increasing public awareness in recent years, a growing number of Americans are speaking out about what’s happening to wild horses. But sometimes, wild burros can be left out of the conversation. Don’t let the name fool you – our team here at the American Wild Horse Campaign is dedicated to fighting every day to protect our nation's wild burros.  According to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Fiscal Year 2024 roundup schedule, the agency is planning to remove over 2,640 burros from their homes this year. The largest of these roundups is happening right now in Arizona’s Black Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA), which is home to nearly 2,000 of these beloved animals. AWHC has deployed one of our humane observers to bear witness to this roundup and to document any animal welfare violations that may occur. This work isn’t easy but it’s critical to advancing our cause. Our observers are the public’s eyes and ears on the ground, reporting back on what happens to our beloved herds during these often traumatic and potentially life-threatening operations. Can you chip in to our Observation Fund today and support our work to hold the federal government accountable for the mistreatment of wild burros? DONATE Unlike wild horses, who generally panic and stay together during roundups and follow their herd to the trap site, wild burros are stoic animals who often stand their ground in the face of the helicopters or scatter in an attempt to avoid capture. As a result, roundups can be even more traumatic for burros. Photo by Darlene Smith For example, in the first month and a half after Nevada’s Blue Wing Complex roundup last year, 31 burros died from a blood disease that can be brought on by extreme stress.  This is the fate that potentially awaits many of the burros the BLM plans to capture this year, including the Black Mountain burros. That’s why AWHC is working to end helicopter roundups and instead shift the government's focus to implementing in-the-wild management to conserve our beloved burro populations – and the evidence our observers collect during these operations is vital to this mission. So will you help power this critical work by making a contribution to support our observation program today? DONATE Thank you! – Team AWHC ...