U.S. Senate Committee Votes to Block Killing of Wild Horses

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has taken a significant step to protect wild horses by voting against the killing of healthy animals. This decision has brought relief to advocates who fear the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) aims to reduce the population drastically.

The Senate's action on November 20 followed a July vote by the House Appropriations Committee that would have allowed the BLM to euthanize healthy wild horses. The final decision will be made during negotiations between the House and the Senate to reconcile their versions of the Interior Department's spending bill.

"The Senate’s vote is a very important step toward defeating the BLM’s plan to kill wild horses and burros," said Suzanne Roy, executive director of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign).

Rapid population growth has led the BLM to round up thousands of animals annually, placing them in holding facilities. A Government Accountability Office review found that in 2016, the wild horse population increased to about 113,000, more than double the 55,000 in 2000. As of March, 72,674 wild horses and burros lived on BLM-managed rangelands, a number the agency considers unsustainable.

The BLM currently holds 45,517 horses and burros in pens and off-range pastures, with numbers continuing to rise.

In an explanatory note, the Senate committee acknowledged the explosive population growth and inadequate range conditions, emphasizing the need for sustainable management. The committee expressed hope that the BLM would adopt humane and viable options to reduce on-range populations.

Advocates suggest contraceptive drugs to control herd growth, but the BLM argues these are difficult to administer and require frequent reapplication. Roy criticized the BLM's management levels, stating they impose extinction-level limits on wild horse and burro populations.

Originally posted by Denver Post