Senate Passes Omnibus Bill, Protects Wild Horses

August 1, 2018 - The Senate has passed a significant spending bill, known as a “minibus,” which funds the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other agencies. This bill is crucial as it maintains protections for wild horses, preventing their killing and slaughter, and excludes dangerous provisions from the House that would authorize mass sterilization. The Senate has once again aligned with science, the majority of Americans, and virtually all wild preservation groups to protect wild horses and burros.

The Fiscal Year 2019 spending legislation now moves to a conference committee, where differences between the House and Senate bills will be reconciled. The House language poses a clear and present threat to wild horses and burros, due to language included by Rep. Chris Stewart. This language would authorize the BLM to manage wild horses and burros in non-reproducing and single-sex herds by sterilizing them through risky and invasive surgeries. The Stewart amendment also sets the stage for the mass destruction of healthy horses and burros over the age of 10, which is barely middle age for a wild horse.

The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) will continue to work to ensure the Senate language prevails and the Stewart language is removed from the bill. Stay tuned for further updates on how you can help ensure the best outcome for our wild horses and burros.