Federal adoption program is reining in wild horses in the U.S.
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A federal adoption program meant to help rein in out of control population growth among wild horses in the western U.S. has made headway, according to a new report from a free market environmental think tank.
Why it matters: Wild horses, icons of the American West and sacred among Indigenous groups, can strain the fragile desert and semi-arid ecosystems of the southwest if left unchecked, per the report from the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC).
- Horse and burro herds can double in size every four years if unmanaged and can quickly degrade or exhaust lands, which could have cascading effects on other plant and animal species and promote soil erosion.
- PERC CEO Brian Yablonski told Axios that the adoption program's impact on ecosystems could become more pronounced as climate change makes drought more common across the West.
By the numbers: Since the program's creation in 2019, there have been more than 15,000 adoptions, per the report.
- The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which runs the program, has saved $66 million in costs and is expected to save approximately $400 million over the lifetimes of the adopted wild horses and burros, PERC found.
- The program is on track to spur more than 30,000 adoptions in its first decade, which could eventually save over $800 million in lifetime costs.
- Each horse and burro adopted saves the agency an estimated $22,500 to $29,000 in holding costs over its lifetime.
What they're saying: "It is a complex issue," Yablonski said. "There's so much history, culture, custom and pride in these horses."
- "And people want to see solutions that are respectful of these animals, and I think adoption is probably the most respectful solution you can have," he added.
How it works: The program offers $1,000 to help pay for training and care for wild horses or burros. It is only paid after around a year of BLM welfare checks to ensure the animals are being cared for properly.
- Adopters must also agree not to sell the horses or burros for slaughter and are limited in how many animals they can adopt.
Catch up quick: After wild horses and burros were put under BLM protection and control in 1971, their numbers grew from around 25,300 to BLM's current approximation of 73,000 — or over twice the estimated amount public lands can sustainably support.
- Another 62,000 wild horses are kept in off-range BLM pastures and facilities, which are facing capacity constraints and high operational costs.
- In 2023, for example, caring for the animals in these pastures and facilities cost $108.5 million.
The intrigue: The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which is what put wild horses and burros under BLM control, gave the animals a wholly unique status under the law.
- They aren't considered livestock or game, since they aren't property and can't be slaughtered.
- They are some of the only animals defined by the land on which they stand and not by what they are biologically.
Zoom out: PERC in its report recommended that BLM raise the adoption incentive to increase adoptions, suggesting a $3,000 payout over three years.
- PERC further proposed that BLM build more holding facilities in the Eastern U.S. to increase adoptions in eastern states, which currently account for more than a third of the agency's annual adoptions.
- The agency estimates that annual eastern adoptions could quadruple over the next five years if transportation and logistical challenges were resolved.
- BLM should shift the money saved through adoptions to other efforts, like treating wild mares with fertility control vaccines, PERC also recommended.
Yes, but: Some organizations, like the American Wild Horse Conservation, oppose the adoption program over concerns that some adopted horses and burros have been abused and slaughtered after incentive payouts were made.
- Yablonski, too, cautioned that BLM has to be careful with how it structures the incentive and thoroughly conduct welfare checks to prevent abuse of the program and animals.
The big picture: The American Wild Horse Conservation instead favors increased fertility controls and expanding the habitat available for wild horses and burros.
- It also advocates for limiting mountain lion hunting, as the cats do at times prey on wild horses and burros.
- However, scientists are still establishing what the predator-prey relationship between wild horses and burros and mountain lions exactly looks like.
- It's unclear if additional mountain lions or other predators could prey on enough horses and burros to cause a significant drop in equid populations.
Go deeper: United Nations: 44% of migratory species in decline
