Individuals and Organizations Continue to Call on Congress to Manage Wild Horses and Burros on Their Lands

Photo of Wyoming Wild a Horse

Photo of Wyoming Wild horses

Photo BLM 2020 Wild Horse Program Expenditures

BLM 2020 Wild Horse Program Expenditures

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES, October 6, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Bureau of Land Management’s September 24th Press Release announced the Rock Springs and Rawlins field offices plan to gather wild horses on or after October 7, from five Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in southwestern Wyoming. The roundup is expected to become the largest wild horse removal in the Wild Horse and Burro Program history. The horses living in this area are tourist and photographer attractions. The official Wyoming Tourism Site, travelwyoming.com, writes “Wild horses have always been symbols of the West, living examples of a wide-open landscape and an untamed frontier spirit.”

Tim Savage, Rock Springs City Council Ward II, published a news article October 3rd opposing the removals titled Word From Your Councilman: BLM Doing our County, Taxpayers a Disservice by Removing Wild Horses. An excerpt from the article reads,“Thousands of people come to Sweetwater County to see a bit of the old west, to see wild horses on the open range. They want to recreate here, spend their travel dollars here, helping our local economy. They won’t be coming here anymore. They will be going to see wild horses in Cody instead.”

Members of the public are calling on their lawmakers to stop rounding up wild horses and instead support the management of horses and burros on the lands they live on. Individuals and organizations are asking why the horses and burros are being removed from their designated lands while privately owned livestock are remaining. Supporters of wild horses believe, if removals are necessary, the Bureau of Land Management should first remove livestock from Herd Management Areas, then provide the food and water resources necessary to maintain the horses.

When comparing the number of cattle to wild horse populations in the Western states, horses and burros have the lower population numbers compared to privately owned livestock. On September 24th, the Salt Lake Tribune published an article that states “the current cow to horse ratio is 30 to 1. Within the BLM’s designated wild horse “herd management areas,” or HMAs, the ratio is about 9 to 1, depending on the time of year.” https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2021/09/24/report-blm-turns-blind/

These numbers do not include the number of feral cattle living on public lands that impact land and water resources.

The Bureau’s press release states two of the reasons for the capture and removal of the horses are “the gather is being conducted to address the overpopulation on the HMAs, (and) prevent deterioration of the rangeland due to the overpopulation.” However, the Fiscal Year 2020 Expenditure Summary pie chart for the Wild Horse and Burro Program above shows that out of the $87,320,425.52 spent, the BLM only used $314,402.46, shown as 0%, for population growth suppression. Fertility control received 0% of the BLM’s 2020 Wild Horse and Burro budget. Roundups, short term, and long-term holding costs were 71% of the program costs. https://www.blm.gov/wyoming/2021-rock-springs-gather

The Path Forward is a wild horse and burro management program funded and administered by Congress that involves increasing the number of roundups and increasing the program budget annually. This plan is opposed by many individuals and groups following wild horse protection issues. Savings to the taxpayer funded WHB Program could be realized by reducing the number of horses scheduled for removal. The National Science Foundation recently awarded a grant to Wildlife Protection Management in Albuquerque, N.M., to work with New Mexico State University to conduct additional research and development on their existing wildlife system. Administering fertility control to horses without the need to round them up is a key capability of WPM’s on range wild horse hub. https://world.einnews.com/pr_news/549148262/n-m-s-wildlife-protection-management-uses-science-to-save-wild-horses-from-roundups

The approaching anniversary of Federal protections for wild horses and burros should be a time to celebrate an American icon. On December 18, 1971, President Richard Nixon signed The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, and he stated, “Embodying the best judgment of both the Congress and the executive branch, it (the Act) should do much to insure a continuing safe habitat for wild horses and burros on the public lands of the United States. It declares that all such animals shall be managed and protected by either the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, according to which department administers the lands where they are found.”

But In 2021, the 50th anniversary year of the Act, wild horses and burros have faced, and are continuing to face, escalated large scale removals. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-signing-bill-protect-wild-horses-and-burros

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