America’s wild horses deserve freedom and protection, not confinement in industrial holding pens.

But today, up to 4,000 wild horses are being held at a newly built Bureau of Land Management (BLM) facility near Winnemucca, Nevada. Despite being called a “corral,” animal advocates describe it more accurately as a mass feedlot, One that lacks proper shelter, allows for extreme heat and freezing conditions, and accumulates 40,000 tons of manure per year with only two to four cleanings annually.

These are wild, sentient beings, born to roam open landscapes. Now they are penned tightly together, stressed by overcrowding and dust, standing in muck or freezing mud, and offered only the minimum standards dictated by government contracts.

This isn’t population management. It’s mass confinement.

BLM claims this facility is based on expert advice. But according to Friends of Animals, who are challenging the project in federal court, the agency cut corners on its environmental review and ignored the unique challenges of the site. The Wild Horse Act is meant to protect these animals, not justify their long-term captivity in unsuitable, feedlot-like conditions.

We are calling on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to:

• Shut down the Winnemucca wild horse feedlot and halt all future use of the facility;
• Immediately stop awarding contracts that prioritize convenience over compassion;
• Adopt humane, science-based alternatives to large-scale roundups and long-term corralling.

Public land should be a place where wild horses live free, not a place where they are warehoused out of view.

These horses belong to the American people, not private contractors. Let’s protect them with the dignity they deserve.

Sign now to demand the closure of the Winnemucca wild horse feedlot and end this inhumane practice.

Photo: (Courtesy BLM)