Congressional Committee Seeks Solutions for Wild Horse Populations

RAWLINS — A Congressional subcommittee on federal lands recently attempted to address a long-standing issue: managing the wild horse populations grazing on public lands. This ongoing debate has sparked various proposed solutions, including controversial measures such as castration and neutering, as well as lifting the prohibition on horse slaughter.

Although there are no immediate plans to slaughter horses, the meeting signaled a troubling turn of events for the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation). Suzanne Roy, Director of AWHC, expressed concerns about the potential push to slaughter up to 80,000 horses deemed excess by public lands ranchers and their political allies.

Roy described the subcommittee meeting as biased, with witnesses advocating for horse slaughter and extensive roundups involving surgical sterilization. Meanwhile, other western states are progressing with studies on how sterilization may affect horse movement patterns. However, Wyoming is still over a year away from its initial steps, according to Brad Purdy, Public Affairs Specialist for the Wyoming state office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Purdy mentioned that the White Mountain and Little Colorado Herd Management Area (HMA) gather would start in either July or August, incorporating a research component. "We are over AML (appropriate management level) in both areas. There will be a gather, and we will also put radio collars on some horses to study their movements," he said. "In about a year, another gather will occur to conduct spay and neutering and examine behavioral changes."

Despite these plans, Purdy emphasized that BLM is not considering slaughtering animals. "This is not on the table right now," he stated.

Managing the west's wild horse population is a costly endeavor. Congress appropriated over $77.2 million to the Wild Horse and Burro Program in fiscal year 2015. Of the $75.1 million spent, holding costs accounted for $49 million, or 65.7 percent. Roundups and removals cost $1.8 million, while adoption events cost $6.3 million.

The BLM estimates there are slightly more than 58,000 wild horses and burros on 42 million acres of federally managed rangeland in 10 Western states, with Wyoming's population estimated at over 3,500.

For some, slaughtering wild horses and selling the meat to countries that consume it may seem like a reasonable and fiscally sound solution. Although Carbon County Commissioner and rancher John Espy did not advocate for slaughter, he acknowledged the need for action. "The herds grow at a rate of 20 percent a year, and the numbers in holding facilities indicate the adoption program isn't working as hoped," Espy said.

BLM confirmed that adoption rates have declined in recent years. Roy expressed concern about the agenda being at odds with the majority of Americans who oppose horse slaughter. "Both Democrats and Republicans should respect the will of the people, and we must mount a grassroots campaign to show the extremist agenda," she said.

Espy disagreed, stating that removing ranchers from public range only postpones the inevitable. "Wild horses have no natural predators, and unless we control the population, this will get out of hand," he said.

Finding consensus on controlling the wild horse population remains contentious. Roy criticized BLM for not implementing solutions like PZP, a humane birth control method, while decreasing removals. "BLM's failure to implement available solutions suggests an agenda to slaughter our wild horses," she concluded.

Originally posted by Rawlins Daily Times