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Wild Horses and Wild Burros Location: Southwest States, especially New Mexico As
a result of a lawsuit filed by Meyer
& Glitzenstein on behalf of the Fund for Animals, the
Bureau of Land Management agreed -- for the first time in the history
of the Wild Horse and Burro Adoption program -- to require prospective
adopters to swear, under penalty of perjury, that they are not adopting
animals for slaughter or other commercial use. Fund for
Animals v. Babbitt, Case No. CV-R-85-365 Some Facts about Wild Horses and Wild Burros: Wild Horses are legendary symbols of the American Old West. In 1971, Congress passed the Wild Horses and Burros Act to protect from branding and slaughter "all unbranded and unclaimed horses an burros on public land." To maintain a natural balance on the range, Congress authorized the Bureau of Land Management to allow wild horses to be "adopted" pursuant to an "adopt-a-horse" program. Under the program, BLM provides animals to private individuals for a one-year probationary period, and then, if the adaptor is "qualified," and treated the animals humanely, BLM grants the adopter title of the animals. No adopted horse may be sold for use in any commercial product, including pet or human food. Despite this prohibition, by 1985, it had become clear that may adopted horses were ending up in commercial slaughterhouses. This led to protracted litigation by the Animal Protection Institute and The Fund for Animals, which concluded with a ruling that BLM may not allow horses or burros to be adopted by anyone who BLM knows or intends to sell them for commercial purposes, and more recently, the imposition of criminal liability should an adopter violate the mandatory pledge not to so use the animals. To learn how you can help wildlife, please click here and Support the Work of the Wildlife Advocacy Project. back to the topWildlife Advocacy
Project Phone: (202) 518-3700 |
-HDM
(D. Nev. settlement approved, Oct. 14, 1997). As a
result, any adopter who violates this pledge is liable for criminal
penalties, including fines and imprisonment. The Wildlife Advocacy
Project is helping to educate the public to monitor the activities
of those who adopt these animals, and to put the pressure on law
enforcement officials to prosecute violators of the new law. Without
such public involvement, the government will continue to be lax
in protecting these wondrous animals from slaughter.