The global threat to burros is fueled by China’s Ejiao trade. It is produced from the collagen extracted from donkey skin and then used in Chinese medicine. The industry relies on the global trade in donkey skins. Throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America, donkey populations are being wiped out, and communities that depend on their donkeys for their livelihoods. The trade is seedy and unscrupulous resulting in brutality and theft. The donkey is now one of the world’s most trafficked animals. You can learn more: Millions of donkeys are being killed to make medicine that doesn’t work, BBC.)

H.R. 6021: “To prohibit the transportation, sale, and purchase of donkeys or donkey hides for the purpose of producing ejiao, to prohibit the transportation, sale, and purchase of products containing ejiao, and for other purposes,” was introduced this session of Congress. The bill currently has only 7 co-sponsors and is unlikely to go to a floor vote after getting shuffled into multiple committees with push back from entities that import Ejiao from China into the U.S.  In January there will be a new session of Congress and this bill will need to be reintroduced. The 2024 election will see 33 Senate seats and all 435 House seats on the ballot. Before casting your votes you can find out how candidates stand on the things that are important to you like stopping the export of donkeys from the US and the import of Ejiao.

Young burro with a floppy ear at Litchfield, showing tag number.

Inside the United States the threat is driven by the very agency tasked with their protection – the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

BLM is rapidly taking the population numbers down throughout the entire western U.S. to less than 3000. Herds are being fragmented down into genetic bankruptcy.

Additionally, in 2023, BLM increased the numbers of burros simply “sold outright” to record levels and the Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) has subsidized thousands of burros being moved out of BLM holding pens as some unscrupulous individuals take taxpayer funding and then turn around and take burros to the auction house. (More about adoption, sale, title transfer and the slaughter pipeline)

WHE team volunteer Laurie Ford went to visit the burros at Alamo and camped out. She really enjoyed spending time out there and has been a wild burro lover nearly all of her life.

Enjoyment of public lands is had by so many people because wild horses and burros are part of that picture.

Over the last 5 years BLM has hit burro HMAs hard. Rare burros (like white, paint and those carrying the critically endangered African Ass genetics) have been removed without any regard for the worldwide rarity they represent and with, literally, no management plans in place that even recognize them, let alone protect them.

Existing on only 12% of all of public lands wild horses and burros give so much enjoyment to so many. Burros are only managed on about 4% of public lands. There are only 21 Burro HMAs in the US. 14 have what BLM calls an Appropriate Management Level (AML) of less than 100. Of those, 8 have a level set at less than 25.

BLM has never addressed genetic viability as they set population numbers through agreement, simply repeated them in land use planning without analysis. and stopped updating (or even creating) actual Herd Management Area Plans (HMAP).

Seeing wild burros really is like finding a rare jewel. Seeing a baby burro is a moment of joy not soon forgotten.

Right now WHE carries the only federal court case that specifically addresses burros. We are preparing to expand our fight to protect the last herds of wild burros in the U.S.

One of the areas we are preparing to expand the fight to protect and preserve wild burros is the Three Rivers Complex: Big Sandy, Alamo, and Lake Havasu Herd Management Areas in Arizona.

The rocky and rugged Alamo HMA (where all of these pictures were just taken) spans around 341,000 acres and suits burros really well.

It is bordered on the north by the Big Sandy HMA and on the west by the Havasu HMA. The three HMAs make up the 955,181 acre Complex where 751,877 acres is managed by BLM.

Last year BLM released the “Big Sandy, Alamo, and Lake Havasu Herd Management Area Wild Burro Gather and Population Control Plan Environmental Assessment.” That long title just means gather plan.

There has been no landscape level assessment for these herds. There was never any Herd Management Area Plans (HMAP). The number of burros was set through agreements and incorporated in land use plans back in the early 90s and simply repeated. BLM says the 288,382 acre Alamo HMA can only support 160 burros, even though the population has frequently risen over 1000 without BLM ever demonstrating changes in rangeland health or demonstrating that removing burros increases rangeland health. The AML needs to be evaluated at incremental population levels to determine an actual AML that represents how burros use that range. The numbers game simply needs to end and BLM needs to start presenting some raw data.

We did extensive comments on BLMs draft plan and have continued to research these HMAs. We are waiting to see how BLM addresses public comments as we prepare to defend these herds.

Right now, BLM says there are over 1400 burros in the Alamo HMA. They look really good.

Burros are a part of the American West. They played an integral role in westward expansion and the mining industry. Carrying their burdens steadfastly into inhospitable territory where, when we take the time to search, we can still see them today.

We thought you might enjoy seeing some of the burros that live in the Alamo area.

We hope you will stand with us as we expand the fight to protect the burros herds of the West.

Learn more about burros and the growing risk of national collapse HERE

Today is the last day for public comments on the Tassi-Gold Butte joint gather plan for burros. The Tassi-Gold Butte HMA is managed by BLM Arizona and National Park Service. The Tassi-Gold Butte Herd Management Area (HMA) and greater Pakoon Basin are in northwestern Arizona, approximately 60 miles south, southwest of St. George, Utah and within the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. They intend to zero out the burros.

WHE is working on extensive comments for this burro herd. The purpose of comments is to engage to create appropriate changes in any planning document. If your comments are ignored, you can then take legal action. The number of comments is not considered relevant by BLM.

If you want to add a comment you can still use the “participate now” button on BLMs website HERE. 

Or you can add your name to this short letter from the public HERE. Our comments are being finalized now and are really extensive to set up the lines for any fight we may need to address in the future.

Sample comment:

The original Tassi-Gold Butte Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) (BLM 1982) was completed in 1982 and allowed a herd of approximately 90 – 100 wild burros to roam freely in what was the Tassi-Gold Butte HMA at that time. BLM states that the 1998 Decision Record for the Mojave Amendment of the Arizona Strip RMP (BLM 1998) modified the 1982 decision to implement the HMAP and set the wild burro herd management level at zero.

The 1998 Arizona Strip Amendment was simply not an analysis document that would be appropriate to change the 1982 HMAP. Only by open and transparent revelation of data and public participation through an HMAP revision process Only by open and transparent revelation of data and public participation through the HMAP revision process should any changes be made to ensure appropriate actions.

BLM has shortchanged both the burros and the public. The environment and threats to burro populations worldwide have changed since 1998. 

BLM has not done any landscape level analysis to demonstrate that zeroing out the burro population would achieve the goals stated in the proposed action: to zero out the burros. BLM is instead relying on outdated supposition that is not appropriate analysis for such and extreme action. 

Please engage in an open HMAP scoping and crafting a final HMAP revision before moving forward with drafting any gather plan. 

Burros speak loudly to the history and legacy of the area and should be managed to maintain that historic legacy for future generations to enjoy. Burros in this area are a public resource and should be protected as such. 

Thank you for keeping WHE running for the wild. 

There are several ways you can support WHE from gift shopping to stock donations. Learn more HERE.