The federal government proudly featured wild horses in celebrations surrounding America’s 250th anniversary — from the U.S. Postal Service’s “American Icons” stamp collection, to the Bureau of Land Management’s ongoing national tour with a wild horse and burro pair named Freedom and Liberty. Despite showcasing wild equines as symbols of independence and the indomitable American spirit, federal management of these animals has devolved into a multimillion-dollar bureaucratic failure that betrays those very ideals.
Following this milestone anniversary, it’s time we urge our government to bridge the gap between rhetoric and policy so these animals remain free.
The Bureau of Land Management, responsible for overseeing wild horses and burros on public lands, is operating under a plan that prioritizes roundups and removals rather than humane, on-range solutions. Today, nearly as many wild equines are warehoused in government facilities as remain free on public lands. And in a striking irony, during the same month America marked 250 years of freedom, BLM will begin one of the largest roundups in history.
BLM conducts high-stress roundups via helicopter, outsourcing to private contractors, while actively resisting public oversight — likely because such roundups frequently result in injuries and deaths. In recent years, BLM has also increased emergency removals, using reckless methods such as bait trapping during foaling season.
Rather than achieving the intended population reductions, these policies have resulted in a ballooning crisis in long-term holding. Over 60,000 captured equines currently live in crowded government corrals, where their care costs taxpayers over $100 million annually. BLM is even seeking to expand facility capacity eastward, adding cross-country shipping stress and further draining taxpayer funds.
BLM does try to adopt mustangs out to the public to get them off the government’s payroll. However, the agency’s poor planning has created other problems. Tried and failed adoption incentives have resulted in numerous animals being purchased for nefarious purposes, with irrefutable evidence that they end up in the slaughter pipeline, sold for meat to foreign countries.
Though bound to protect wild equines by federal law and congressional appropriations, BLM utilizes concessions and loopholes that allow continued mismanagement. Under the Sale Authority Program, for example, the agency sells wild equines commercially, at which point they lose all federal protections.
BLM also routinely ignores congressional directives on budgeting. While lawmakers specify funds for humane, cost-effective fertility control, the agency uses only about half of that money as intended, favoring expensive roundups instead. Meanwhile, nongovernmental organizations are delivering fertility control treatments at double BLM’s rate, proving this method is both effective and scalable.
Despite congressional calls for reform, BLM has indicated no planned policy shift. However, the agency’s current 10-year management plan is set to expire this year, which offers a fresh opportunity to push for more sustainable and humane policies that keep wild herds free.
Looking to the future, BLM must phase out its failed management model and embrace humane, on-range solutions instead of roundups. The agency must prioritize fertility control and could save taxpayers a significant sum through public-private partnerships with organizations already successfully implementing it. Crucially, BLM must also modernize its welfare standards and make them legally enforceable — otherwise, true accountability remains impossible.
OPINION: CONGRESS MUST STOP LETTING AMERICA’S NATIONAL PARKS FALL APART
When our own government’s policies resemble the unaccountable federal power our founders resisted, it should be a wake-up call. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson defined tyranny as “a long train of abuses, pursuing invariably the same Object.” BLM’s reckless management of America’s wild horses certainly qualifies.
Symbols of liberty should not be branding or propaganda — they should be truthful and inspirational. As BLM’s management plan expires and we reflect on America’s Semiquincentennial, let us remember the plight of our wild horses and pledge to hold BLM accountable to the values we hold so dear.
Patricia Miller is the executive director of American Wild Horse Conservation, the nation’s champion for humane, in-the-wild protection of wild horses and burros on our public lands.
Meghan Miller is a senior fellow at the Wilberforce Institute, a pro-liberty and pro-free market nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing animal suffering.