BLM Plan for Mega-Gather Is a Budget Buster

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed a massive round-up and removal of approximately 1,705 horses from Wyoming’s Red Desert Complex. This operation would remove nearly two-thirds of the total number of horses the agency removed from public lands across 10 states last year. If executed, it would not only negatively impact the horses but also cost American taxpayers up to $78 million in holding costs over the lifespan of nearly 2,000 animals who are about to lose their freedom.

The Cost of Wild Horse Management

Under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the federal government, through the BLM, is responsible for protecting about 50,000 wild horses and 10,000 burros on public lands in the West. For years, the BLM has been rounding up more horses than it can place with adopters, leading to a large number of wild horses in holding facilities.

The captive horse population has now swelled to 50,000, matching the number of free-roaming horses. The cost of care for these horses is consuming the agency’s budget at a time when Congress is focused on reducing spending. It costs over $43 million annually to care for these captive horses, and each additional horse added to this system costs taxpayers approximately $46,000.

Financial Implications and Alternatives

The plan for the round-up of the Red Desert complex horses is a budget buster, exemplifying government waste and inefficiency. The BLM should reconsider its approach, as it has previously reduced round-ups, gathering fewer than 2,000 horses in 2014 to avoid financial insolvency.

However, this restraint did not last, and the proposed large-scale round-up marks a return to financially reckless practices. Instead, the agency should consider alternative management methods, such as fertility control.

While the BLM claims that fertility control is not effective for large herds, the agency has been hesitant to implement it. Only in Colorado has there been a modest effort to use fertility control. In 2014, the BLM treated fewer than 400 wild horses and burros with fertility control, less than 1 percent of the total estimated population of 57,000.

The Need for Change

The BLM continues to address crises reactively, as seen with this large-scale removal from Wyoming. This approach merely shifts the problem from open range to holding facilities. A change is necessary to prevent further suffering of America’s wild horses. The current plan is flawed, and the BLM should not impose this liability on the next administration or taxpayers.

Originally Posted By HSUS