Myth: There are too many wild horses and burros on public lands, and their numbers must be reduced.
Fact: During the 1800’s, it is estimated that there were more than 2 million wild horses and burros roaming the West. These animals, along with countless wildlife species ranging from bison to wolves to prairie dogs, were the victims of ghastly extermination efforts, primarily to make way for private domestic livestock grazing. Today, there are approximately 70,000 wild horses and burros remaining on millions of acres of our western public lands. Tragically, the interests of these “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West” are being forfeited for those of the livestock industry and other commercial operations.
Many wild horse and burro herds are being managed at such dangerously low numbers that their long-term health and genetic viability are seriously imperiled. In 1999, the federal government sponsored a wild horse and burro population viability forum in which several leading scientific experts, including Drs. Gus Cothran, Francis Singer, and John Gross, participated. One of the main issues discussed was that smaller, isolated populations of fewer than 200 animals are particularly vulnerable to the loss of genetic diversity when the number of animals participating in breeding falls below a minimum level. This scenario sets the stage for a host of biological problems associated with inbreeding, including reduced reproduction and foal survival, reduced adult fitness, and physical deformities. Unfortunately, the federal agencies charged with the protection, viability, and sustainability of our nation’s herds, the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service, maintain shockingly low appropriate management levels (AMLs)—the number of wild horses or burros in a herd management area that the BLM deems the land can support in balance with other multiple uses. In many cases, AMLs are set far below the genetic viability threshold, and overall, the BLM’s AMLs would reduce wild horse and burro numbers to under 30,000 across 55 million acres.
Myth: Wild horses and burros must be rounded up to save them from dying of starvation or thirst.
Fact: While the BLM argues that wild horses and burros are being rounded up for their own good to keep them from dying of starvation or dehydration in areas affected by fire and drought throughout the West, animal advocates have frequently found that herd areas stricken by so-called “emergency conditions” weren’t nearly as bad off as the BLM claimed. Not only were wild horses and burros doing just fine, but livestock often remained in the same areas or were returned to the areas in short order. Of course, once the wild horses and burros are gone, they are gone for good—advancing the BLMs overall objective of drastically reducing populations as quickly as possible. By attempting to justify extra removals as “emergencies,” the BLM is able to tap into emergency funds from other programs and go over and above their allocated budgets to meet this goal.
Many wild horse and burro herds suffer needlessly from been unable to roam freely throughout their entire herd areas—blocked by fences and other impediments constructed to accommodate livestock. Hence, they are unable to access forage and water to which they are legally entitled. Wild horses and burros have survived droughts and fires in the past and will survive them in the future, as other wild animals do, if they are treated as wild animals and left alone.
Myth: Wild horses and burros are destructive to the environment and must be removed to protect ecosystem health.
Fact: Wild horses and burros, like any wildlife species, have an impact on the environment, but due to their natural behavior, their impact is minimal. In fact, wild horses and burros play a beneficial ecological role—for example, by dispersing seeds through elimination and by maintaining trails during heavy snowfall and breaking ice at watering holes, helping other animals survive during harsh winter months. Wild horses and burros can also serve as food for predator species such as mountain lions. Importantly, there are key differences between wild horses and cattle in terms of their grazing patterns, behavior, and impacts. Cattle are far less selective in what sort of forage they will consume, meaning a wider range of plants are consumed. Wild horses (with their upper and lower incisors) are able to cut grass; cattle, conversely, may pull plants out roots and all. Horses are nonruminants, so seeds pass more easily through their digestive system. Perhaps most importantly, wild horses traverse greater distances (and altitudes) than domestic cattle set out to graze. Cattle tend to congregate and stay near water sources (e.g., stream banks, sensitive riparian habitats) and may trample an area repeatedly.
If BLM and USFS officials are genuinely concerned about ecosystem health, they must refrain from conducting business as usual and turning a blind eye to the indisputably overriding cause of habitat degradation: livestock grazing and public encroachment. Cattle vastly outnumber wild horses on public lands, and for years, the agencies have permitted extremely high levels of livestock use on public lands (as a subsidy to the livestock industry), resulting in soil erosion, water contamination and depletion, and deterioration of vegetation. Although wild horses and burros are often blamed for these problems, the agencies’ own data indicate otherwise. Little has changed since the release of the 1990 US General Accounting Office Report, Rangeland Management: Improvements Needed in Federal Wild Horse Program, which concluded, “The primary cause of the degradation in rangeland resources is poorly managed domestic (primarily cattle and sheep) livestock.” Unlike cattle who tend to congregate and settle in riparian areas, wild horses and burros are highly mobile, typically visiting watering areas for only short periods of time. To make matters worse, livestock are concentrated in grazing allotments at artificially high densities during the critical growing season when vegetation is extremely vulnerable to permanent damage. This overgrazing sets the stage for habitat degradation that may not be immediately apparent but can cumulatively cause massive vegetation die-off.
Myth: Wild horses and burros are an exotic or feral species and must be removed to protect native wildlife.
Fact: Not so. The paleontological record shows that North America is the cradle of equine evolution, beginning more than 60 million years ago. Conventional theories postulate that horses introduced by the Spanish more than 500 years ago were a different species than those horses who existed in North America prior to their mysterious disappearance approximately 10,000 years ago. However, mitochondrial DNA analysis of fossil remains indicates that E. caballus, the “modern” horse, is genetically identical to E. lambei, the most recent equine species to evolve in North America more than 1.7 million years ago. Hence, it can plausibly be argued that the Spanish actually reintroduced a native species, one which evolved on this continent, and which has adapted and flourished both biologically and ecologically since its reintroduction. Interestingly, some scientists question the theory that all horses became extinct 10,000 years ago. They are only now beginning to analyze fossil remains that may eventually support this hypothesis.
Moreover, simply because horses were domesticated before being released is biologically inconsequential. Observing horses in the wild demonstrates just how quickly domesticated behavioral and morphological traits fall off. According to Dr. Patricia Fazio, “The key element in describing an animal as a native species is (1) where it originated; and (2) whether or not it co-evolved with its habitat.” By virtue of their evolutionary history, biology, and behavior, these animals are native wildlife. In addition, the WFHBA rightfully recognized them as an “integral part of the natural system of the public lands.”
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Wild Horses as Native North American Wildlife - Compiled by Jay F. Kirkpatrick, PhD and Patricia M. Fazio, PhD
Myth: Ranchers depend upon livestock grazing for their livelihood, and wild horses and burros are creating an undue hardship on their operations.
Fact: While some small family ranchers do depend upon livestock for their primary source of income, the top grazing permits on our public lands in terms of numbers of livestock are held by corporate interests, including the Hilton Family Trust, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Nevada First Corp., and Metropolitan Life Co. In 1992, the General Accounting Office reported that just 16 percent of the approximately 20,000 public lands grazing permittees controlled more than 76.2 percent of forage available on BLM lands, and most of these were either very wealthy individuals or big corporations. These wealthy corporate interests are much more concerned with paper stock than livestock, and with preserving their tax write-offs than a way of life. For the most part, removing wild horses and burros translates into just one more form of corporate welfare.
Studies indicate that most ranchers are choosing to diversify their sources of income. Today, less than 3 percent of our nation’s beef is produced on public rangelands. Ranching on both public and private lands accounts for less than 0.5 percent of all income by Western residents. In 1994, the Department of the Interior concluded that the elimination of all public lands grazing would result in the loss of only 0.1 percent of the West’s total employment. Changing times and demographics, not a small number of wild horses and burros, are responsible for the decline of the ranching industry’s importance in the West. The time has come to help wild horses and burros and to assist ranchers who want to voluntarily transition from a profession that is taking its toll on their pocketbooks.
Myth: Without the federal grazing program assistance, ranchers would be unable to carry on a cherished family tradition and way of life.
Fact: Small family ranchers, just as small family farmers, have far more to fear from corporate interests than they do from responsible federal lands management policy. In fact, about 70 percent of cattle producers in the West own all the land they operate on and do not rely on public lands grazing whatsoever. It can reasonably be argued that those ranchers who benefit from ridiculously cheap public lands grazing fees and other government subsidies associated with federal grazing permits have a distinct advantage over those who do not. Many of these ranchers who now fancy themselves as modern day cattle barons are millionaires and billionaires who made their fortunes in other businesses. The top 10 percent of public lands grazing permit holders control a striking 65 percent of all livestock on BLM lands and 49 percent on USFS lands. The bottom 50 percent of public lands grazing permit holders control just 7 percent of livestock on BLM lands and 3 percent on USFS lands.
Because public lands grazing allotments require ownership of private base property, and wealthy individuals and corporations own more private property (i.e., base property), they wind up with more federal grazing allotments. Hence, these wealthy operations benefit from numerous taxpayer subsidies, while small family operations struggle to make ends meet. Wealthy individuals and corporations are increasingly buying out small ranching operations—acres at a time. With rising operating costs and mounting debts, most small family ranchers are looking for work outside the ranch and a way out of ranching.
Some ranchers have expressed an interest in a proposal that would provide for their needs as they transition into other lines of work. If a rancher voluntarily relinquishes his/her federal grazing permit, the government would compensate the permittee $175 per animal unit month (the amount of forage necessary to graze one cow and calf for one month). Not only would such an arrangement help ranchers and be a huge cost savings to taxpayers (see last myth), but it would also allow forage to be reallocated to wildlife, including wild horses and burros.
Myth: Removed horses and burros are adopted to loving homes through the government’s Adopt Program.
Fact: While the BLM has an obligation to ensure that the persons adopting wild horses and burros are “qualified” adopters, many people do not fully understand the responsibility and commitments that are required to care for an adopted animal, thus setting the stage for failed adoptions. Rigorous screening of potential adopters, as well as education and monitoring, are critical to the success of any adoption. Sadly, the BLM has failed in all of these areas. In 1997, the Associated Press uncovered enormous and egregious abuse within the adoption program, including the revelation that many individuals were adopting large numbers of wild horses only to turn around and make sizable profits by selling them for slaughter. To make matters worse, The New York Times reported on a Justice Department investigation that revealed the BLM had a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on this issue, and that, in fact, many BLM employees were well aware that adopters intended to sell horses for slaughter after receiving title. Only after being sued by wild horse advocates did the BLM agree to implement measures to stem the tide of horses going to slaughter. Even now, countless horses fall through the cracks. A 2021 New York Times report exposed grave problems with the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program, whereby individuals receive cash payments to adopt captive wild horses. This program is deeply flawed and results in scores of formerly wild horses ending up at slaughter. The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and its legislative history make it clear that Congress, with overwhelming public support, intended for wild horses and burros to be protected in the wild, removed only when necessary, and, if removed, guaranteed humane treatment. They were never to be sold for slaughter.
Myth: With thousands of wild horses and burros awaiting adoption, the program is too costly and the only solution is to either sell or destroy “excess” animals who haven’t been adopted or are deemed “unadoptable.”
Fact: In 2001, the BLM adopted a reckless strategy to reduce the numbers of wild horses and burros on public lands by more than half by the year 2005, without any environmental review whatsoever. Up to that point in time, adoptions had kept pace with removals. Increased removals resulted in a backlog of animals awaiting adoption. Many animals were automatically shipped to long-term holding facilities and never even put up for adoption. In 2020, the BLM effectively doubled down on its misguided approach to “managing” wild horses, submitting a report to Congress that called for removing 18,000–20,000 equines from the range each year at a cost of nearly $1 billion in the first five years alone, With more than 60,000 animals languishing in holding facilities, costs for the inflated number of removals and the animals’ care have mounted—all directly attributable to BLM’s own misguided strategy. The BLM’s fiscal year 2005 budget for administering the program was $39 million. The program’s 2023 budget was nearly $148 million.
Each year, through annual appropriations legislation, Congress includes prohibitions against lethal control for wild horses and burros—a sign of the strong bipartisan support that exists to protect these cherished icons from cruel treatment and destruction. National polling shows overwhelming support to protect wild horses, and past suggestions of destroying these animals have been met with public outcry.
Western rangelands can sustain the wild horses and burros that exist, particularly if the BLM adopts a proactive approach using humane and proven fertility control methods such as porcine zona pellucida, or “PZP.” The BLM manages 245 million acres of public lands in the United States. Wild horses and burros are now relegated to less than 27 million acres of those lands (where they are still vastly outnumbered by livestock). Over the years, the BLM has continued to reduce the acreage available to wild horses and burros; roughly 20 million acres of designated habitat for wild equines have been revoked since passage of the 1971 law.