BLM Illegally Sold Thousands of Wild Horses for Slaughter: Report
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), responsible for the protection of wild horses and their grazing lands, has been implicated in a scandal involving the illegal sale of federally-protected wild horses. A report confirms that 1,794 wild horses were sold to a Colorado rancher, Tom Davis, who subsequently sent them to slaughter.
Illegal Sales and Violations
Between 2009 and 2012, Tom Davis purchased these horses through the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program. The report from the Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General highlights that Davis wrongfully sent the horses to slaughter. Allegations suggest Davis had connections with former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
“We determined that BLM did not follow current law while managing WH&B. BLM also failed to follow its own policy of limiting horse sales and ensuring that the horses sold went to good homes and were not slaughtered,” investigators wrote in the report.
Davis admitted that most of the horses he purchased went to slaughter, stating that the BLM must have known the horses would end up at the slaughterhouse.
Financial and Ethical Implications
The wrongful sale cost taxpayers $140,000 to deliver truckloads of horses to Davis. He paid $10 per horse, totaling less than $18,000, and profited up to $154,000 by selling them for slaughter.
BLM employees did not verify Davis's intentions for the horses, despite the large number being sold to him. The agency continued sales even after reports surfaced about the horses being sent to slaughter.
Investigation and Lack of Prosecution
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) declined to investigate Davis's ties to Salazar. The investigation was referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado and the State of Colorado Conejos County District Attorney’s Office, both of which declined civil and criminal prosecution.
“It took more than three years for the OIG to confirm what we’ve always known – that the BLM sold 1,795 federally-protected wild horses to a known kill buyer who sold them to slaughter,” said Suzanne Roy, Director of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation). “Unfortunately, there will be no justice for these mustangs, who suffered a brutal death in Mexican slaughter plants. No one at the BLM is being held accountable for this betrayal, and Tom Davis is not being prosecuted for violating his contractual obligation to not sell the horses for slaughter.”
BLM's Response
In response to the report, BLM officials stated they are taking the matter seriously and have implemented measures to prevent future sales of horses to slaughterhouses. The agency also confirmed it no longer has any business relationship with Tom Davis.
Originally Posted By Washington Times