BLM 'Must Stop Kicking Can Down The Road,' Use Proposed Budget Increase For Fertility Control

LOMPOC, Calif., May 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation on Friday called on the Biden administration and Congress to press the Bureau of Land Management to use a proposed funding increase for the infrastructure necessary to immediately begin implementing a robust and sustainable program of safe, proven and humane fertility control for wild horses and burros on the range.

The president on Friday released a budget proposal that includes a $35 million increase for the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, to $152.6 million.

"The Bureau of Land Management needs to stop kicking the can down the road. It can no longer use the excuse that it lacks the infrastructure or the resources to implement safe, proven and humane fertility control so that the agency's decades-long practice of capture, removal and warehousing of America's wild horses can be brought to an end," said Neda DeMayo, president of RTF. "Congress must hold the agency accountable for doing so."

RTF expressed disappointment that guiding language for BLM's budget unfairly blames wild horses and burros for degrading landscapes in the West. The BLM estimated in 2020 that there were more than 95,000 wild horses and burros on the range – a number dwarfed by privately owned cattle and sheep, even on land set aside for wild horses and burros.

"We appreciate the Biden administration's focus on climate change, but it's important to remember that wild horses are protected by federal law and are a native species indigenous to North America," DeMayo said. "There are many factors, many of them far more numerous, including energy projects, privately owned cattle and sheep, and other human uses, impacting our public lands." 

About RTF

Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation (RTF) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to wild horse preservation through sanctuary, education, conservation, and advocacy since 1998. It also operates the American Wild Horse Sanctuary at four California locations, caring for well over 500 wild horses and burros. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates about wild horses and burros on the range and at our sanctuary.

SOURCE Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation