Return to Freedom: Congress must act to stop wild horses from going to slaughter

LOMPOC, Calif., Aug. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation continues to call on Congress to take long-overdue action to both end the slaughter of American equines and to keep wild horses and burros on the range.

Only these steps will keep wild horses and burros from falling into the foreign slaughter pipeline, according to Return to Freedom (RTF), a leading national nonprofit wild horse conservation and advocacy organization.

"That any wild horse or burro suffers the road to slaughter is unconscionable —  especially when they are protected under federal law," said Neda DeMayo, president of RTF. "This is an entirely preventable and un-American tragedy, and requires lawmakers to put a stop to it."

An Aug. 20 New York Times story spotlighted a disturbing increase in wild horses being sold to slaughter, including one horse trader who purchased hundreds of horses from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for $25 apiece, then resold them.

Due to a defunding of U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors, horses cannot currently be slaughtered in American abattoirs, but kill buyers purchase wild horses and other equines on the cheap at auction, then ship them to Mexican or Canadian slaughterhouses.

Slaughter ban needed

The Times story underscores the need for Congress to finally pass the Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, which would place a lasting ban on equine slaughter inside the United States and bar the export of American equines for slaughter, effectively closing the loopholes kill buyers utilize.

During 2025, a total of 25,050 American horses were shipped to their deaths — a 25.8% increase from 2024 and the most in six years. An unknown number were wild horses and burros.

Polls show that Americans overwhelmingly oppose horse slaughter, and the SAFE Act has 230 bipartisan House cosponsors, but the bill must be brought up for a vote.

Anti-slaughter language has also been inserted into the surface transportation reauthorization bill that would ban shipping horses and other equines for slaughter.

"Horse slaughter is wholly un-American," DeMayo said. "It needs to end now."

Management changes crucial

The Times story reflects on long-needed humane and fiscally responsible wild horse management that prioritizes keeping wild horses and burros on the range, for which RTF has long advocated.

For decades, the BLM and U.S. Forest Service have tried and failed to manage wild horse and burro numbers through a system of capture and removal, including the use of helicopter roundups.

The result: more than 58,000 wild horses and burros live not on the range but warehoused in off-range government facilities at a cost of more than $100 million per year.

It's an untenable system that all too often leads to more wild horses and burros ending up in the hands of kill buyers.

The ceaseless and senseless cycle of removing wild horses and burros from the range continues because the BLM has opted not to address reproduction.

The BLM removed more than 63,000 wild horses and burros from the range from 2021-25 while treating and releasing only about 1,000 mares per year with fertility control.

RTF has long advocated for the use of proven, safe and humane fertility control as a tool that can begin phasing out capture and removal as the BLM's primary management method. In fact, divergent public lands stakeholders also support fertility control use. 

"Congress must hold the BLM's feet to the fire for real change to occur," DeMayo said.

What was missing from the Times article

The Times' story omits recent steps the BLM has taken to improve protections for wild horses and burros sold after capture and removal on the range.

RTF's team provided information to BLM, and engaged in discussions with BLM leadership and multiple welfare organizations to determine where policy and action could shift within the law (i.e., immediately implementable) so that changes would matter for sold wild horses.

The bill of sale now says buyers cannot "recklessly or negligently" sell a horse to slaughter, directly or indirectly, placing the onus on the buyer. The sales fee increased from $25 to $125.

RTF showed not just who was taking advantage of the loophole, but also how, and presented evidence showing wild horses and burros were being sold to slaughter as quickly as one day after the new owner received title.

Continued vigilance, transparency, and accountability will be needed to ensure wild horses are protected from the threat of entry into the slaughter pipeline via malicious buyers.

"Until Congress passes the SAFE Act and forces the BLM to implement proven, safe and humane fertility control, the threat of slaughter will loom over wild horses and burros," DeMayo said. "It's well past time for lawmakers to ensure implementation of humane and sustainable wild horse management and finally end the threat of slaughter for all of America's horses, wild and domestic."

Return to Freedom, Wild Horse Conservation (RTF) is a leading wild horse conservation organization focused on the preservation of wild horses and burros since 1997. RTF also operates the American Wild Horse Sanctuary at three California locations, caring for nearly 500 rescued mustangs and burros. The sanctuary hosts experiential learning programs and models minimally intrusive management solutions that can be implemented on the range as an alternative to traumatic and costly roundups. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X, BlueSky, Tik Tok and Youtube. 

SOURCE Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation