Wild Horse Amendment Clears Rules Committee; Headed to House Floor Tomorrow
Groups Applaud Bipartisan Team of Lawmakers for Leadership to Protect America’s Wild Horses & Burros
WASHINGTON (July 22, 2020) - The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) applauded the House Rules Committee for advancing a bipartisan amendment, championed by U.S. Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN), Dina Titus (D-NV), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), David Price (D-NC), Peter King (R-NY), Deb Haaland (D-NM), Ben McAdams (D-UT), and John Katko (R-NY), that directs the Bureau of Land Management to implement a substantial humane fertility control program to manage wild horses and burros on Western public lands.
The amendment, “Requires the Bureau of Land Management to utilize $11,000,000 of its Wild Horse and Burro Program budget to implement PZP humane, reversible fertility control to manage wild horse populations.”
“We’re deeply grateful to U.S. Reps. Cohen, Grijalva, Titus, and the other representatives for supporting this amendment and forcing BLM to finally use humane fertility control and standing up for wild horses that 80 percent of Americans want protected,” said Suzanne Roy, executive director of the American Wild Horse Conservation. “The bipartisan co-sponsors of the wild horse amendment are providing badly needed leadership to force the Bureau of Land Management to move away from cruel and costly helicopter roundups toward humane management of these national icons in the wild. We urge every member of the House to support this important amendment.”
In her statement, Congresswoman Titus recounted the recent horrific death of a young wild mustang who crashed into a panel, broke her neck, and was dragged away in chains at a BLM helicopter roundup in Utah.
The amendment will be considered when H.R. 7608 moves to the full House for a vote, which is expected to occur this week.
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The American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) is the nation’s leading wild horse protection organization, with more than 700,000 supporters and followers nationwide. AWHC is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse and burros in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. In addition to advocating for protection and preservation of America’s wild herds, AWHC implements the largest wild horse fertility control program in the world through a partnership with the State of Nevada for wild horses that live in the Virginia Range near Reno.