In a government roundup of wild horses at Silver King, 66 out of 504 horses seemed to vanish with no trace. While the others were either shipped away or killed according to documentation, 66 slipped through the cracks and their ultimate fate remained unknown.

Every year, the Bureau of Land Management, or the BLM, rounds up thousands of wild horses into holding pens to later be sold, transferred and sometimes even shot to death. But because there is currently no central database or identification system in place for the public to freely view, it's impossible to know what happens to the horses once they're off public land.

Some advocacy groups, including the Grass Roots Horse nonprofit organization, believe the BLM doesn't always know either.

With the creation of a free public information database that includes where and when a horse was caught, its sex, markings, a photo I.D. and where the horse went to, the BLM will be forced to come out of hiding and show exactly what happens to each horse captured.

Horse roundups are both inhumane and unnecessary, and awareness is on the rise. A public information database would be an important step toward holding the BLM accountable for their treatment of the nation's wild horses.

Sign the petition and tell the BLM it has a responsibility to establish and maintain an accurate database that's free to the public.

Photo credit: Casey Geib