Q: Is there really an overpopulation of wild horses on public lands?

A: No. We have far fewer wild horses and burros now than when the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act passed in 1971. There were 60,000 wild horses and burros counted during the 1974 ground census. The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) target goal is approximately 23,000. This number is far below the recommended minimum number of 30,150 to sustain healthy populations (Dr. E. Gus Cothran, University of Kentucky). The BLM has eliminated wild horses and burros from 102 Herd Areas (home ranges) of the 303 areas that Congress had designated for sustaining wild horses and burros. Wild horse populations have been cut in half while livestock numbers have not been significantly reduced in more than twenty years.

Q: Are wild horses the cause of over-grazing of the public rangelands?

A: No. According to the General Accounting Office (now called the Government Accountability Office), "BLM frequently used the lack of detailed carrying capacity and range monitoring data to explain why it has not taken action to reduce widely recognized overgrazing by domestic livestock….The primary cause of degradation in rangeland resources is poorly managed domestic livestock (primarily cattle and sheep) grazing." BLM refused to make the recommended proportionate reductions of private livestock vs. wild horses. Instead, the public's wild horses continue to undergo drastic reductions. (GAO Report RCED-90/110, Rangeland Management/Improvements Needed in Federal Wild Horse Program, 1990)

Q: Why are there 8,300 wild horses in long-term holding pastures?

A: These horses should never have been removed from their rangelands in the first place.  Removals of these wild horses were not based on the Act's goal of "achieving a thriving ecological balance." The older horses in holding facilities were never given an opportunity to be adopted, based on a myth that older horses are "not adoptable." Instead, they were sent directly to long-term holding pastures. BLM has historically favored management based on capture and removal, rather than sustainable long term in-the-wild management. BLM's poor marketing program and lack of understanding the uniqueness of wild horses has led to the perceived notion that older horses are not adoptable.

Q: Are wild horses really suffering from drought and starvation?

A: No. The majority of wild horses are in good to very good condition. Instances where wild horses' health and well-being are in jeopardy within Herd Management Areas (HMAs) often reflect the animals' inability to ingress and egress due to locked gates and barrier fences. In some areas water sources are shut off to the animals by permittees. 

Q: Is the current BLM removal strategy fiscally responsible?

A: No. "Reducing authorized grazing levels would likely be cheaper than wild horse removals to achieve the same reduction in forage consumption." (GAO 1990). The cost to remove a wild horse for adoption is $3,300.00. BLM's wild horse and burro budget was increased 50 percent in 2001 to fund massive removals. In 2005, BLM's budget was increased by another third, to continue with the removal campaign and maintain tens of thousands of horses in government holding corrals. A 2004 USGS study found that in-the-wild use of contraceptive measures alone would save $7.7 million annually.

Q: Is there a problem with inbreeding or genetics for wild horses?

A: No. Dr. E. Gus Cothran of the University of Kentucky has conducted genetic studies on equines and determined that wild horses are far more genetically diverse compared to any particular breed of horse in the U.S. Furthermore, he found that there is little to no inbreeding in wild horses and they are therefore genetically robust.

Q: Are wild horses native to our continent? 

A: Yes. The longstanding myth that wild horses are "non-native" species is false. The recently developed technology of mitochondrial-DNA analysis provides incontrovertible evidence that today's wild horses are actually "reintroduced" native wildlife species in North America. Horses lived exclusively in North America over approximately 57 million years ago. (Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick, Ph.D. in reproductive physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine of Cornell University, and Dr. Patricia Fazio, Ph.D. in environmental history, Texas A&M University)

Q: How do most Americans feel about wild horses?

A: America's wild horses are among the most beloved animals on earth. In 1971, more than 70 bills were introduced in Congress for the protection of wild horses and burros. The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act then passed unanimously in Congress. It's been said that support for wild horses generated the largest outpouring of mail in the history of Congress—second only to the Vietnam War. Support for wild horses crosses all political, cultural, and social lines. Last year, the slaughter of 41 mustangs was widely reported, including press coverage by People magazine, CNN, AP, MSNBC, The Washington Post and dozens of other newspapers across the country, and more than 40 celebrities have joined in calling for wild horse protection. Since then we've lost hundreds more to the slaughterhouse.

Just last year, Americans made sure their voices were heard, and the House overwhelmingly approved this identical amendment, as well as another similar appropriations amendment to prohibit horse slaughter. However, the USDA chose to sidestep Congress's will and used private funding to allow the grisly slaughter of horses to continue. Without the passage of protective legislation, our wild horse will continue to end up at the slaughterhouse.