Ranchers and Bureau of Land Management Clash Over Wild Horse Roundups

For years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has used helicopters to round up wild horses to control their population. However, the BLM now faces challenges with limited space and funding for these horses.

“It’s true. The long-term care costs more than we pay for elderly care in centers. Isn’t that something? We're spending more money on a horse for the rest of its life than we will on our own parents,” rancher Burl Tolbert said.

Tolbert traveled from Utah to attend a BLM meeting in Sacramento, emphasizing that the current approach is ineffective.

“We have more wild horses in government holding facilities today than we have free on the range,” Deniz Bolbol of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) told FOX40.

Advocates argue that there is insufficient land allocated for wild horses, which is also used by cattle ranchers.

“They have completely devastated the area for several miles in each direction,” testified one rancher at the BLM meeting.

Bolbol and other advocates claim that ranchers are overburdening BLM grazing lands.

“It’s less than 3 percent. It wouldn’t impact the beef market if we eliminated all public grazing tomorrow,” Bolbol said.

Ranchers, whose farms have been passed down through generations, assert that they have cooperated with the BLM for decades and share the advocates' concern for the animals.

“These people love these horses. They don’t know what they’re talking about, but they love them. And I don’t think they love them half as much as I do,” Tolbert said.

Originally Posted By Fox 40 News