WLJ Publisher Pete Crow raised the question in the office recently that it seems the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has instituted more wild horse and burro gatherings this year than in previous years.
Pete, your inquiry has been answered as the BLM recently released the figures on the wild horse and burro program for fiscal year (FY) 2020—which ended Sept. 30, 2020—stating the agency removed 10,139 wild horses and burros from overpopulated herd management areas (HMAs). The number represents a 28 percent increase from 2019, when 7,979 animals were gathered.
This year the number of wild horses and burros placed into private care decreased from 2019, with 6,162 horses placed compared to 7,104 head. The BLM cites the numbers were down due to COVID-19, despite outreach efforts and a partnership with Mustang Heritage Foundation. As of March 1, 2020, the wild horse and burro population on public lands was estimated at 95,114 head, with Nevada having the highest wild horse population of 51,528 horses. According to the BLM, this figure is triple the number of animals the land can sustainably maintain. The BLM currently manages 26.9 million HMA acreage in 10 Western states.
The BLM also announced it secured contracts for seven new off-range pastures to provide long-term care for up to 5,000 unadopted and unsold wild horses.
“Through decisive action and a creative approach, the BLM is showing successes in the management of wild horses and burros,” said Casey Hammond, principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management. “The continued innovative use of incentives is saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars while reducing the overpopulation of wild horses and burros on the range.”
Through the Adoption Incentive Program—which pays $500 within 60 days of adoption and $500 within 60 days of receiving title—it is estimated the federal government saved approximately “$154 million that would have been spent on lifetime care for the animals,” according to the BLM press release.
In December 2019, Congress allocated an additional $21 million in an omnibus appropriations package for a total of $101.6 million, a 26 percent increase from the FY 2019 level ($80.6 million). For FY 2021, the budget proposes $116.8 million for the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program—a $15.3 million increase over FY 2020—“consistent with congressional direction to pursue a nonlethal management strategy.”
While the expense figures for FY 2020 have not been released for the program, the BLM incurred $85.54 million in expenditures for FY 2019 with 67 percent—$57.6 million—for off-range holdings. The BLM monthly holdings report as of August 2020 shows 47,845 animals in both long and short-term holdings with a capacity of 58,751 animals.
Reducing costs
In a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report written in October 2020 titled Wild Horse and Burro Management: Overview of Costs, some measures to reduce the program’s cost and reduce the population to appropriate management levels (AMLs) are the cost of caring for off-range, the cost of adoption and improving fertility control.
Currently, the average cost for long-term facilities is $2 per head per day versus $5 per day for short-term. Long-term facilities are for older and other animals with less potential for adoption or sale. Short-term is more expensive due to hay costs, veterinary services, and farrier services to prepare the animals for adoption or sale. The question is whether some animals could be transferred promptly to long-term facilities to save money.
While the expenses for adoption are more significant than the revenue, the BLM estimates a $24,000 savings per animal over the cost of caring for the horse in long-term facilities. For adoption, BLM typically charges a minimum of $125 per trained animal and $25 per untrained animal, but the average cost for BLM to adopt or sell is approximately $1,500. This cost does not include the $1,000 incentive BLM has paid individuals for each untrained animal they adopt. Through adoptions and sales, placement into private care was $8.2 million—10 percent—of expenditures in FY 2019.
Over the objections of horse advocates and environmental organizations, to save money and reduce the areas to a higher AML, the BLM proposed expanding the use of fertility control. As of FY 2019, 12 herds were undergoing fertility control. Currently, the BLM uses an immunocontraceptive agent—PZP—that costs up to $2,500 per mare and typically lasts one year. To lower costs, the BLM is exploring longer-lasting fertility control and other options, such as sterilization. In FY 2019, less than 1 percent of expenses were for fertility control.
Lastly, another controversial way to reduce expenses discussed in the CRS report is the increase in the limitation in the number of animals that can be sold. Currently, there is a limit of four animals within a six-month period. In previous budget proposals, the Trump administration proposed “using all authorities granted under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act by removing general agency sale limitations (intended in part as safeguards against slaughter) and congressional prohibitions on using funds to destroy healthy animals,” according to the CRS report. Congress retained these prohibitions for FY 2020.
Reduce population
Earlier this year, a coalition of groups including the Humane Society of the United States, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and American Farm Bureau Federation stated the BLM’s hands were tied due to the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and made recommendations for the reduction in the population of the animals.
Some of the measures proposed were similar to the ones addressed in the CRS report and included: relocate removed animals to more cost-effective pastures and to secure private lower-cost land; apply humane population growth suppressants; and promote adoptions. The coalition predicted the measures would return the population to AML limits in two decades and eliminate the threat of slaughter for the horses.
“This proposal, which is really a betrayal by so-called wild horse advocates who are in bed with the meat industry, is a management for extinction and putting money toward it is a step toward eradicating these iconic animals from our public lands,” Friends of Animals President Priscilla Feral said in a statement.
BLM Deputy Director of Policy and Programs William Pendley Perry stated in October 2019 it would cost $5 billion and take 15 years to get the overpopulation of the wild horses and burros under control. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
