Congress must add a line item to the budget to fund formal rulemaking for welfare standards for wild horses and burros (or simply hold the agency accountable to the process BLM never undertook to create policy for animal welfare). The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published a Federal Register notice on Jan. 9 about proposed rulemaking that aims to strengthen regulations on the public handling of wild and exotic animals for exhibition.
If the government can find time and money to create enforceable welfare rules for animals bound for slaughter, import of animals and exhibiting exotic animals, they can find it for our protected wild horses and burros.
Wild Horse Education carries active litigation to address the failure of BLM to take the draft memorandum (IM-2015-151) into a formal rulemaking process to create an enforceable policy. The survey results are being sent to our attorneys and to Congress in our packet.
The agencies failure to create enforceable rules denies the stakeholder (the public) their right to participate in one of the areas of the program that has been extremely important to the public since the inception of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, humane treatment. The failure has also led to an untenable situation during roundups where abuse, neglect and a desire for expediency over safety are, once again, more than apparent. The internal standard is woefully inadequate in parameters and enforcement.
Welfare Policy Survey
The survey included 15 questions based on simple guidelines that include Air Quality, Heat Index, electric prods (hot shot), cleaning trailers, etc., and can be seen at the bottom of this page. A space was left for additional comments. The survey was not intended to be inclusive of all aspects of a potential formal policy but to raise questions: “What are accepted public standards for equine welfare?” Participants identified themselves in 3 basic categories: public, horse trainers, veterinarians.
4299 people participated in the survey. 100% wanted an opportunity to provide comment through an open and transparent rulemaking process.
100% of participants answered each question in the affirmative. More than 70% added additional comment. Additional comments were added without any direction and were left open for the public to simply add on whatever they wanted to.
- 98% added a comment that they feel the BLM simply does not care about wild horses/burros (or the public). The failure to create an enforceable and formal welfare policy is a clear indicator that nothing in the program is functional or fair.
- Roughly 65% added a comment that BLM has not included any standards for expanding fertility control and felt current application is an abuse of authority: lack of justification, no monitoring for physical or behavioral complications, no modeling or monitoring for changes in foaling season ( if and when foaling season would return and changes to foaling season time of year).
- More than 50% added a comment that references an unacceptable lack of documentation on wild horses or burros that are euthanized by the agency (no photos, vet reports) for non life-threatening conditions such as previous broken bones, blindness and club-foot.
- Over 30% added a comment that raised concerns with BLM obstructing public access to document handling during capture and in temporary holding corrals. Many also raised concern about the “off-limits” processing/holding facilities where there is no public oversight at all.
- “Fox guarding the hen house,” is a phrase repeated in numerous comments that find BLM monitoring and determining what is humane inappropriate. Having the BLM employee that wrote the Gather Plan (EA), is responsible for money spent during the removal (time), the same person determining if a hot shot should be used during loading (one example) is offensive. Several commenters also noted that BLM uses veterinarians also employed by the government (Animal Plant Health Inspection Services, APHIS) to determine “humane” and noted that APHIS is the same agency responsible for things like coyote killing for livestock operators.
- Over 10% of respondents added a comment that indicated they felt drug and alcohol use was playing a part in abuses and wanted testing and prohibition.
- 82% added a comment about the sheer lack of consequences for violations of the current “welfare program.” Many noted repetitive violations by the same individuals at roundup-after-roundup and are incensed that BLM rates these roundups as “Good” or “Excellent” in their own assessments.
- 74% added a comment referencing the lack of “common sense” when it came to the failure to even mention Air Quality or Heat Index in the current internal standards.
There were many categories people added additional comments.
What this survey demonstrates clearly: a formal and enforceable welfare policy is important to the public. The public clearly wants to participate and has a lot to offer.
Like everything else in the “wild horse and burro program” BLM likes to claim a “fair multiple use” mantra, but treats the program very differently than all the others. Other programs have actual rulemaking for enforceable policies. In the wild horse and burro program, BLM uses the word “policy” to represent informal standards. Regulations that say they are required to create herd management area plans (HMAP) are seen as “but the regulation does not say when.” The law says they must manage humanely so they create a test version, say it will be formalized and just write the word “permanent” on the old version and try to pass it off as policy? Can you imagine that attitude in any other program under the agency?
As the budget debate moves forward for 2024 in a series of Continuing Resolutions, you can ask lawmakers to propose an amendment that provides funding. As the 2025 debate gets underway, we can make formal rulemaking for a welfare policy a mainline priority to be included in the budget.
Budgets for 2024 have to go for floor votes where every member of Congress can propose an amendment and vote. This is an election year and funding for rulemaking for a welfare policy is a very simple “ask” that no one should oppose. (Note: We are working on a packet for the 2025 debate that is just beginning that will target committees.)
Please make the call:
(202) 224-3121 for the U.S. House switchboard operator. A U.S. Capitol Switchboard operator can also connect you directly with the Senate office. (202) 224-3121.
If you do not know who your House or Senate Rep is, the operator should be able to help you. OR you can click HERE to find your reps by just putting in your zip code.
When you are connected to an aide in your reps office, the script is simple:
I would like you to propose an amendment to add a budget line item solely devoted to make the BLM wild horse and burro welfare policy (currently referenced as “CAWP”) into an enforceable rule.
The internal program is not creating an environment where wild horses and burros are treated according to safe, sane and current animal husbandry practices to ensure steps are taken to prevent injury and death.
BLM never opened a humane handling policy to public participation and revision through rulemaking.
Please, add a budget item to ensure the safety of wild horses and burros. This amendment should not be controversial. We should all be able to agree there must be an enforceable welfare policy.
Thank you.
Time's up
We need your support to remain on the frontline; on the range and in the courts.
Thank you for keeping us in the fight to protect and preserve our wild horses and burros.