Save America’s Wild Horses and Burros!

Do you want America’s wild horses and burros to be replaced with large quantities of cows and sheep? Do you want wild horses to endure cruelty and possible slaughter? Separated from their family, and chased from their homes, wild horses lose their wildness.

WILD HORSE AND BURRO ROUNDUPS MUST END.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is conducting wild horse roundups in order to make space for livestock. These roundups are an unnecessary cruelty to wild horses, who deserve the right to live freely. By signing this petition, you can help save our wild horses from capture, abuse and possible slaughter and help them stay wild. 

Take Action Now! 

Call your senators. Below is the number for the United States Capitol Switchboard, which can connect you to your senator’s office. Ask that the wild horse and burro roundups stop.

(202) 224-3121

 Send a message to the president.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/get-involved/write-or-call/

Let’s raise our voices to save wild horses and burros!

Suggestion: Watch: Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West, which can be watched on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and more.

Digging Deeper:

When I first heard about the wild horse and burro roundups, I wasn’t sure if what I was hearing was true. It just didn’t make sense to me that the Bureau of Land Management would be removing wild horses and burros from their homes. I watched the film Wild Beauty Mustang Spirit of the West. I started doing research. I saw that the Bureau of Land Management claimed the purpose of the roundups was to maintain healthy animals and healthy land. On their website, the BLM states: “The Bureau of Land Management manages and protects wild horses and burros on 26.9 million acres of public lands across 10 Western states as part of its mission to administer public lands for a variety of uses. The Wild Horse and Burro Program's goal is to manage healthy wild horses and burros on healthy public rangelands.” 

If the goal of the roundups is solely for the health and well-being of wild animals, why would the BLM conduct roundups in high heat with young foals and pregnant mares? The BLM does not let the public witness the full roundup, as stated in an article by americanwildhorse.org, (https://americanwildhorse.org/media/feds-accused-blocking-publics-view-massive-wyoming-wild-horse-roundup and seen in Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West. Why wouldn’t the Bureau of Land Management want the public to see how humane the roundups are? Wouldn’t they want everyone to witness a roundup so they could see how dedicated the BLM is to ensuring the well-being of wild horses and burros?

I read that a wrangler was caught on video kicking a roped and exhausted horse in the head, who was not standing up (https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article290771204.html The BLM’s Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program for Wild Horse and Burro Gathers states: “Hitting, kicking, striking, or beating any WH&B in an abusive manner is prohibited.”

The Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program for Wild Horse and Burro Gathers also said, “The helicopter must be operated using pressure and release methods to herd the animals in a desired direction and should not repeatedly evoke erratic behavior in the WH&Bs causing injury or exhaustion.” Chasing very young foals and pregnant mares in the heat would exhaust them. There are injuries during roundups, including broken legs and necks, as reported by the BLM. In one video, a roped horse is dragged by its neck into a trailer (https://wildhorseeducation.org/2023/08/04/dragged-by-the-neck-with-a-rope-and-more-8-3-antelope-update/ This is, without doubt, another example of how wild horses and burros are not treated humanely.

Let’s get back to the reason for these roundups. In grasslands and meadows, horses help control plant growth. They dig many feet to get to water, helping plants and other animals have water. Another way they help other animals is by breaking ice on lakes and streams, giving other animals that can’t do this access to water. What about burros? They also help other animals just like horses, digging water holes. Based on this information, it seems like these wild animals help the environment.

Through my research, I came to the conclusion that the BLM’s reasoning for these roundups simply did not make sense. There had to be a reason, though. I continued investigating, and found evidence that the motive was raising livestock. In an interview from marketplace.org, a cattle rancher shared regarding wild horses: “When they’re at the level of where they’re supposed to be at, or close to it, they’re not a challenge. ...". He brought up how the wild horses are competing with his cows and destroying things (https://www.marketplace.org/2023/11/16/family-ties-and-history-entwine-this-rancher-with-wild-horses/ Ranchers even sued the BLM, wanting even more horses to be removed, saying that there were too many wild horses in a particular area and that this was negatively affecting grazing and other wildlife (https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/ranchers-sue-blm-over-lack-of-wild-horses-gathers-in-central-nevada CBS News wrote: “CBS4 Investigates has found one reason for those roundups is due to private ranchers holding livestock permits on the same public lands where the wild horses are designated to roam free, and there aren't enough resources in those areas for the horses and livestock to coexist — causing the mustangs to lose out.” In this same article, CBS News gives us numbers that help prove that the motive behind these roundups is raising livestock. In 2021, they tell us, almost seven hundred horses were rounded up and removed from the Sand Wash Basin, located in Colorado. Two months later, the land that the horses used to reside now held over 2,000 sheep (https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/wild-horse-removal-livestock/ 

Action Tip: Do not buy beef or lamb. By stopping purchasing beef and lamb, there will not be as much demand on livestock. If you do buy beef or lamb, make sure to buy from small family farms. In addition, beef is already a contributor to climate change and is not a healthy food.

Fertility vaccines already exist. If there really was a problem with wild horses and burros, we have a way to control their population.

How can a roundup be humane? There is no way to round up wild animals in a kind way. It’s time that cruelty and abuse toward America’s wild horses and burros end.