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Categories: Horse News

BLM considering Mustang Euthanasia

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials announced on June 30 they are considering euthanizing wild horses to control herd populations.



According to BLM agency director Henri Bisson, the federal agency can’t afford to care for the number of Mustangs currently in holding facilities, and he said fewer people are adopting wild horses.



The announcement marks the first time the BLM has publicly discussed the possibility of euthanasia for horses in holding facilities, according to an Associated Press report.

The agency is also considering whether to stop roundups of wild horses to save money, and it was recently announced that a large roundup scheduled for this fall had been canceled. If the BLM does halt roundups, the action will most likely be criticized by sheep and cattle ranchers who see the wild horses as competition for feed on the open range.

“Our goal is supposed to be about healthy horses on healthy ranges. But we are at the point we need to have a conversation with people about pragmatically what can we do given the financial constraints of our program to meet the goals we have,” Bisson told the Associated Press.

Last year’s BLM horse program budget was $39 million, and the upcoming budget is expected to come in at $37 million.
There are an estimated 33,000 wild horses on the range in 10 Western states; about half are in Nevada. The BLM’s target level of wild horses on the range is 27,000.

Approximately 30,000 wild horses are in holding facilities awaiting adoption or permanent housing solutions.
BLM authorities will consider their alternatives at a meeting scheduled in September.

View Comments

  • Hi,
    I think that it is wrong to kill the mustangs in captivity i think that they should try to give some of the horses away for free maybe then some people would be willing to take some. Then when they get a number of the horses to homes start to have them up for adoption and have people pay to adopt them. Also the ranchers shouldnt be complaining because the horses hasd the land first before the farmers brought their animals. If there was any possible way to geld some of the stallions out in the wild maybe that could help keep the herd populations down a little.

  • I hope they dont have to resort to euthanizing mustangs, If i oculd adop one i definatley would, Maybe they oculd geld some of the stallions.

  • Instead of killing these horses, they should have gelded them as they come in...then release them...bring others in and geld...etc..this would cut down on the population rather than killing good horses...

  • I'm shocked at the news that this is the solution they have adopted or want to happen. I love horses and Mustangs are the American symbol. I am outraged at the fact that euthanization is even brought up. What about California, we're over populated and they can't seem to do anything about that or it would be genocide. If I was rich I would do everything in my power to stop this ludicrous proposition. Let the free be free. This land was also meant for the animals to roam and who are we to kill them off just because there's too many. I don't seem to understand, first you hear about a lot of animals that are becoming extinct and who's to say that if they start euthanizing these Mustangs that they too won't become a victim of extinction.

  • THATS NOT GOOD....IF THE BLM WOULD LOWER THEIR QUALIFICATIONS FOR ADOPTIONS I BELIEVE MORE PEOPLE WOULD ADOPT THESE HORSES...
    AND TOO WOULDN'T GIVING THEM AWAY FOR FREE BE BETTER THAN PUTTING THEM TO SLEEP

  • 100 years ago 3 million "Wild Horses" roamed free across North America. Noe the BLM can't manage 30,000 for $3M. 100 years from now out of oil horses may once again serv mankind. We must preserve our "Wild Mustangs and their valuable gene pool by natural selection or we may make the same mistake the early Americans made when they ate and drove the horses out of North America. They came back with a vengence.

  • I can't believe it!!! That's is sooo not right! They should leave the stallions, with good bloodlines in them, on the range to make the foals better and geld the others that wouldn't make good foals or something other than killing them! THE LAND IS THEIR'S!!!!!!!!

  • Its the responsible thing to do. Its much better then them going to slaughter. Horses are expensive to care for so mpore people are buying/adopting. Giving them away or making them easier to adopt is not a smart solution. Then you have horses in bad homes, people who cant afford them, etc. And guess what? More horses get put down or worse, slaughtered, abused or neglected.

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