Justice for baby Saffron. End the killing of blue-eyed wild horses.
The Issue
On October 19, 2026, the Bureau of Land Management shot and killed a nursing foal (photo above with her mother Moonflower) named Saffron, her two-year-old sister, and a third cremello foal during the Red Desert roundup in Wyoming. The Bureau of Land Management claims they were blind.
Weeks earlier, photographer Chad Hanson filmed Saffron’s family on the range. They were healthy and alert, grazing, playing, and traveling together across rugged terrain. Saffron stayed right beside her mother.
BLM’s justification: the horses showed “no reaction to movement toward their face and eyes.” That is a crude reflex test, done on terrified young horses by staff with no evidence of veterinary involvement. It is not a diagnosis.
Belief in a cowboy myth that blue-eyed horses, and cremellos in particular, are blind is driving BLM’s inhumane behavior. The myth has been disproven by science, including a 2014 veterinary study that found blue-eyed horses are no more prone to eye disease than brown-eyed horses.
Saffron, her sister and the other cremello baby did not have to die. Her mother, Moonflower, did not have to have her nursing baby ripped from her side.
Cremellos are in high demand, and sanctuaries like Skydog Sanctuary in Oregon already give blind and partially sighted horses safe, happy lives. BLM could have made one phone call. It reached for its gun instead.
BLM is required under federal law to provide humane management to wild horses. The callous execution of these innocent young horses is a new low for the agency.
We, the undersigned, demand that the BLM be held accountable for this inhumane treatment of a beautiful Wyoming wild horse family. The agency must:
- Investigate the October 19 killings and release all records to the public
- Require a licensed veterinarian to examine any horse before euthanasia for blindness
- End trap-side vision tests and require a 72-hour low-stress hold before any diagnosis
- Adopt written diagnostic standards developed with equine ophthalmologists
- Train staff that blue eyes do not mean blindness
- Release Saffron’s surviving family to Skydog Sanctuary
Saffron cannot be brought back. Sign now so no other wild horse dies because of a myth.
2,408
The Issue
On October 19, 2026, the Bureau of Land Management shot and killed a nursing foal (photo above with her mother Moonflower) named Saffron, her two-year-old sister, and a third cremello foal during the Red Desert roundup in Wyoming. The Bureau of Land Management claims they were blind.
Weeks earlier, photographer Chad Hanson filmed Saffron’s family on the range. They were healthy and alert, grazing, playing, and traveling together across rugged terrain. Saffron stayed right beside her mother.
BLM’s justification: the horses showed “no reaction to movement toward their face and eyes.” That is a crude reflex test, done on terrified young horses by staff with no evidence of veterinary involvement. It is not a diagnosis.
Belief in a cowboy myth that blue-eyed horses, and cremellos in particular, are blind is driving BLM’s inhumane behavior. The myth has been disproven by science, including a 2014 veterinary study that found blue-eyed horses are no more prone to eye disease than brown-eyed horses.
Saffron, her sister and the other cremello baby did not have to die. Her mother, Moonflower, did not have to have her nursing baby ripped from her side.
Cremellos are in high demand, and sanctuaries like Skydog Sanctuary in Oregon already give blind and partially sighted horses safe, happy lives. BLM could have made one phone call. It reached for its gun instead.
BLM is required under federal law to provide humane management to wild horses. The callous execution of these innocent young horses is a new low for the agency.
We, the undersigned, demand that the BLM be held accountable for this inhumane treatment of a beautiful Wyoming wild horse family. The agency must:
- Investigate the October 19 killings and release all records to the public
- Require a licensed veterinarian to examine any horse before euthanasia for blindness
- End trap-side vision tests and require a 72-hour low-stress hold before any diagnosis
- Adopt written diagnostic standards developed with equine ophthalmologists
- Train staff that blue eyes do not mean blindness
- Release Saffron’s surviving family to Skydog Sanctuary
Saffron cannot be brought back. Sign now so no other wild horse dies because of a myth.
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Petition created on October 27, 2026