Government-Funded Program that Finds Homes for Wild Mustangs in Danger of Ending
The Mustang Heritage Foundation seeks individual donors to keep the program alive
AUSTIN, Texas, May 4, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF)—a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding homes for American mustangs—has placed more than 5,000 horses into private care through its Trainer Incentive Program (TIP). Through a partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the program invites qualified trainers to take home a wild mustang from a holding facility, gentle the horse and then find a suitable adopter. Once the process is complete, the MHF pays the trainer $1,000.
Currently, more than 46,000 mustangs have been gathered and removed from the range, costing taxpayers $50,000 per horse throughout its lifetime. Designed to address this growing problem, the TIP Program has been extremely successful—so much so that in only six months, the 1,300 adoptions that have taken place have exceeded the 2016-17 fiscal year budget set aside by the BLM for the program. The MHF now faces the possibility of ending the program through September unless it gets financial support from sources outside of the BLM.
"Adoptions through TIP have grown by 259 percent year over year," said Kali Sublett, executive director of the Mustang Heritage Foundation. "We've found that TIP is the most cost-effective program for placing mustangs into private care, since it reduces the burden on taxpayers from $50,000 to $1,200 per horse."
The organization has suspended the program and stopped the placement of mustangs into training until additional funding has been secured.
"It's unfortunate that the moment we have hit our highest point is also the time we have to tell trainers that they cannot place animals into training and adopters that we cannot fulfill their requests for gentled mustangs," Sublett said. "We hate to let the lack of additional BLM funding get in the way of our unbelievable momentum."
The public can support TIP by making a $1,000 tax-deductible contribution to the MHF on behalf of the program. Each donation will allow a mustang to be put into training, gentled and placed into a caring home. Contributions of any amount will help and can be made on the Mustang Heritage Foundation website or donationsforadoptions.causevox.com. Donations by mail or phone are also welcome.
About the Mustang Heritage Foundation
The Mustang Heritage Foundation is a 501 (C)(3), public, charitable, nonprofit organization. The mission of the Mustang Heritage Foundation is to create and promote programs and activities that provide information and education about wild horses, elevate their image and desirability, provide opportunities to become involved in the wild horse experience and secure adequate numbers of caring homes for excess horses. Working in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, the Mustang Heritage Foundation is passionate about the successful placement of mustangs into private care so future generations can enjoy this distinctive feature of our American heritage. The Mustang Heritage Foundation has placed over 8,000 mustangs into private care since 2007. To learn more about the MHF and the TIP Program, please call 512-869-3225 or visit MUSTANGHERITAGEFOUNDATION.ORG/TIP.
About the Bureau of Land Management:
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) removes wild horses and burros from public lands to ensure a healthy balance of land and animals. The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. To learn more about the Wild Horse and Burro Program, please call 866-468-7826 or visit BLM.GOV.
SOURCE Mustang Heritage Foundation
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