Wild Horse Advocates Condemn Interior Department's Population Control Plan

Animal rights groups are voicing strong opposition to the Biden administration's recent strategies for controlling the wild horse population in the West, particularly in Nevada. This move has sparked significant debate among various stakeholders.

“We’re going to fight as hard as we’ve ever fought before,” said Marty Irby, Executive Director of Animal Wellness Action. Irby expressed his dismay upon hearing Interior Secretary Deb Haaland outline the administration's policy on managing wild horse overpopulation.

During an April 20 appropriations hearing, Secretary Haaland stated, “We’re in agreement with the plan of the previous Administration. We’re going to let the science guide us.” The Wild Horse and Burro Program will continue using a combination of measures, including helicopter roundups, fertility controls, and adoption and sales programs.

Following legal challenges, the Department of Interior announced in April that they would not proceed with testing a controversial sterilization method involving the forcible removal of mares’ ovaries.

Irby criticized population control actions like helicopter roundups as inhumane and unnecessary, emphasizing the cultural significance of wild horses. “This country was built on their backs,” Irby said. “They deserve a special place, they deserve to be protected.”

The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) is also urging the Biden administration to adopt more humane management practices for wild horses.

However, the administration's approach has support from agricultural groups like the Nevada Farm Bureau. President Bevan Lister argued that birth control alone is insufficient for managing herd sizes due to limited resources on rangelands. “We support any and every means possible to bring the wild horse and burro populations into appropriate management level,” said Lister.

Lister highlighted the urgent need to stabilize the population, citing threats to the health and safety of thousands of horses due to food, water shortages, and exceptional drought conditions. “We’re seeing range degradation at a rate that has never been seen before,” he said. “If you’ve never seen an animal choked to death for lack of water or starved to death for lack of food, it is an ugly and inhumane and unconscionable thing.”

Secretary Haaland and White House officials have declined repeated interview requests regarding the details of their plan. Experts anticipate more information about the administration's goals for the Wild Horse and Burro Program once a Bureau of Land Management Director is confirmed and the White House's detailed budget is released later this month.

Originally posted by KOLO TV