Congressional Committee Approves Wild Horse Destruction

The recent vote by a Congressional committee has sparked significant concern among advocates for wild horses and burros. This decision effectively reverses a previous ban on the destruction of these animals, which was part of a spending bill signed into law earlier this year.

The House Appropriations Committee's vote has been described as a 'death warrant' for America's mustangs and wild burros. Suzanne Roy, director of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign), emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, "House Appropriations Committee members just signed a death warrant for America’s mustangs and it will lead to the wholesale destruction of these irreplaceable national treasures."

If enacted into law, the amendment would permit the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to euthanize horses and burros deemed unadoptable, provided they are not used for commercial purposes, including human consumption. Roy criticized this move, arguing that it is being misrepresented as 'euthanasia' when it is, in fact, a license to kill tens of thousands of healthy wild horses and burros.

The BLM, which manages the National Wild Horse and Burro Program, has advocated for lifting the ban to better control the population of these animals. Jason Lutterman, a BLM spokesman, noted that the population of wild horses and burros continues to exceed the resources available to support them, creating a growing problem on the range.

However, Roy contends that ranchers view wild horses as competition for grazing land shared with livestock. She argues that ranchers are attempting to revert to a time when they could easily remove these animals from the land.

Recently, the appropriations committee also voted to overturn a ban that prevented the Agriculture Department from providing inspectors at meat plants that slaughter horses. This decision could potentially lead to the reopening of American slaughterhouses and the eventual slaughter of wild horses.

Senators Tom Udall and Lindsay Graham are expected to introduce an amendment to restore the ban on funding for USDA inspections of horse slaughter plants, aiming to prevent the mass killing of wild horses.

The Associated Press contributed information for this report.

Originally posted by Denver Post