American Wild Horse Conservation applauded Reps. Vern Buchanan, David Schweikert, Juan Ciscomani, and Brian Fitzpatrick for their leadership in calling on the U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to advance cost-effective, humane reforms to the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. 

As the administration and legislators look to reduce federal agency spending expenditures, a letter sent from Republican lawmakers, including two senior Ways & Means Committee leaders — Reps Buchanan and Schweikert — committed to fiscal responsibility, to Secretary Burgum emphasized the need to prioritize the use of proven fertility control methods as an alternative to the agency’s costly and inhumane helicopter roundups. 

They urge Secretary Burgum to prioritize BLM funding to focus on non-lethal, science-based strategies, citing both fiscal responsibility and the American public’s widespread support for protecting wild horses and burros on the range.

Despite spending more than $150 million on its Wild Horse and Burro Program in Fiscal Year 2024 — exceeding its congressional appropriation by $11 million — BLM directed less than 4 percent of that budget to humane fertility control. 

TAXPAYER SAVINGS

If even 10% of eligible horses were treated, implementing fertility control would save the taxpayers $249 million. In contrast, lifetime holding costs for removed wild horses continue to climb, with taxpayers footing the bill at estimated $48,000 per animal. There are 65,189 wild horses and burros currently held in government facilities.

“This letter reflects growing bipartisan momentum for a shift in how our nation manages its wild horses and burros,” said Suzanne Roy, executive director of American Wild Horse Conservation. “We commend these lawmakers for recognizing what the science, and the American people have made clear: continuing to rely on roundups and mass removals is not only cruel, it’s fiscally reckless.”

AWHC strongly supports the recommendations outlined in the letter, including increasing the use of fertility control, supporting budget prioritization toward immunocontraceptives, and maintaining a firm commitment to non-lethal management — principles that have been endorsed by the BLM’s own advisory board and supported under the previous Trump administration.

As the national voice for wild horse protection, AWHC urges Secretary Burgum to take swift action on the recommendations and work with Congress to create a more sustainable and compassionate future for America’s iconic wild herds.