American Wild Horse Conservation Responds to BLM's New Wild Horse Sales Policy

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has introduced a new policy aimed at curbing the sale of federally protected wild horses to slaughterhouses in Mexico. However, the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign) argues that this policy merely formalizes the sale of wild horses to kill buyers, rather than preventing it.

The new policy restricts the sale of more than four wild horses to a single buyer within six months without approval from a BLM Assistant Director. Despite this, a ProPublica article revealed that BLM Corral Managers are pressured by Washington to meet quotas, often resulting in sales to kill buyers.

Suzanne Roy, director of the American Wild Horse Conservation, criticized the policy, stating, "Putting the decision of who gets more than four horses in the hands of the very same BLM managers who were exposed as being responsible for wild horses ending up in the hands of a known kill buyer who ships horses to Mexican slaughterhouses is outrageous -- especially considering the new policy allows the BLM to look the other way after six months."

Roy further commented, "This new policy is window dressing for an Administration that uses every excuse to look away and only started to ask questions after its immoral and potentially unlawful actions were exposed by the media. It is not a serious attempt to stop federally protected wild horses from ending up at Mexican slaughterhouses. The only way to do that is to stop rounding up and removing wild horses from public lands in the West and start answering fundamental questions, such as why the BLM is stockpiling more wild horses than it knows what to do with."

She added, "Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the Department of Interior and the BLM are reacting to growing political pressure by taking minimal action, while keeping in place a system that favors special interests but risks the total elimination of America's iconic wild horses."

In November, the American Wild Horse Conservation delivered a letter with 25,130 signatures to Secretary Salazar, urging an immediate halt to the BLM's roundup, stockpiling, and auction program until a thorough investigation ensures wild horses are protected from kill buyers. As of January 4, 2013, there has been no response.

Background

Under the Obama Administration, the Interior Department has removed over 35,000 wild horses from Western public lands, with only a third adopted. Most are kept in holding facilities, with more wild horses in government facilities (50,000) than free on the range (32,000). This removal is to accommodate livestock grazing, with private livestock outnumbering wild horses on BLM lands by at least 50 to 1.