Wild Horse Advocates Challenge BLM Roundup Plan

Wild horse advocates are challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plan to round up mustangs and burros in Southeast Oregon. The BLM intends to remove more than 1,400 wild horses from an area called Beatys Butte, claiming the herd is six times larger than it should be. Fewer than 100 horses will be allowed to remain.

Marika Ruppe, representing the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation), delivered a petition to the BLM protesting the roundup. “The horses are federally protected. And those lands are designated to those horses, the herd management areas. So we feel those horses should stay,” said Ruppe.

Advocates suggest that the BLM should focus on birth control for the herd to prevent further population growth. The BLM, however, states that the horses removed will be available for adoption or placed in a permanent holding facility.

Watch Oregon Field’s Guide Special, “Wild Horses In Crisis”.

Originally posted by OPB.