Horses are so important to American’s that an entire day on the national calendar is devoted to highlighting the plight of horses in America and beyond.

The first animal cruelty laws in Colonial America were enacted in 1641 in Massachusetts. he Massachusetts General Court enacted its comprehensive legal code, the “Body of Liberties.” Sections 92–93 prohibited “any Tirranny or Crueltie towards any bruite Creature which are usuallie kept for man’s use” and mandated periodic rest and refreshment for any “Cattel” being driven or led.

In 1828, the first laws that took broad action were passed in New York. Black Beauty  by Anna Sewell inspired laws that prohibited cruelty, with a focus on the plight of horses. The new medium of photography had flooded the press during the Civil War of (1861-1865) with images of soldiers and horses. On April 10, 1866, when the New York Legislature incorporated a groundbreaking state animal protection society vested with policing powers to prosecute abuse began a flood of anti-cruelty to animals laws began being passed state-by-state.

Today, the battle continues against cruelty as exploitation of animals in industry is asserted to be more profitable than humane actions and isolated individual abuses continue.

You can take action to help in the fight to gain protections for America’s beloved equines, both wild and domestic.

Slaughter

Last week, the Safeguard America’s Forgotten Equines Act (SAFE) was reintroduced (and sponsored by) today by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) in the Senate and Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) in the House. The introduced legislation would permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption and would also prohibit the export of live horses to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses to be sold overseas. The lawmakers hope to include the SAFE Act as part of the 2025 Farm Bill when it is considered by Congress later this year.

The bill does not have a number yet in the House or Senate. But that does not impede your ability to call your lawmakers to gain support.

Call the Congressional Switchboard at: (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your representatives. Tell them to “please cosponsor the reintroduced SAFE Act to permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption and would also prohibit the export of live horses to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses to be sold overseas. Americans do not eat their horses and the majority find the practice abhorrent.”

Abuse of wild horses and burros

The neglect and abuse of wild horses and burros draws attention to the mismanagement of our wild ones each and every year. Public lands management is a complex process where private profit interests have the upper hand with land managers and push each and every year for a larger share of public lands resources. In response, land managers skip actual management planning to protect and preserve our herds and see them as “pests” in the way when dealing with “clients and customers” (the lingo used to define mining and livestock).

Through winning litigation our team has set precedent. Removal is simply not management. Our battle in the courts has expanded to address loss of habitat directly to mining, defining management of habitat and herd protection on the range and pushing transparency (we cannot fix things we are forbidden to see). WHE is also the only organization to ever litigate abuse directly.

The simplest thing BLM could do is formalize a welfare policy to create concise and enforceable rules. Creating rules to stop preventable injury, suffering and death should not be controversial. Why do they refuse? Decades of culture steeped in prejudice against wild horses and burros and cruelty to western species (Coyotes, Prairie Dogs, livestock and more) simply refuse to evolve. (learn more HERE)

Please Call Congress (202) 224-3121.  Tell the operator who your representative is (or where you live if you do not know) and you will be connected to an aide in the office. Request an amendment to the funding bill for the Department of Interior to create a line item for funding for Rulemaking to formalize an enforceable welfare policy for the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program. The word “Rulemaking” is important to use. That word will get the draft CAWP standards out for public input and finalized as enforceable. This action addresses abuse directly and does not use abuse to steer any other agenda. (learn more)

Our team is working hard in the complexities of land management decision-making and in the courts, you can help stop blatant cruelty of the horse slaughter industry and roundups by taking the two actions outlined above. 

Today, if you post on social media, advocate organizations are using the hashtags #HaltTheHelcopters #StopHorseSlaughter and #HorseProtectionDay. If you post on social media you can help raise awareness by using those tags in your personal posting.

You can also add your name to our mailing lists. There are two types of lists: One adds you to our email newsletter and the other alerts you to every article and action item we publish. The first is to the mailing list for the newsletter, the second on below is to be alerted when we publish on our website. In the coming days, taking fast action for our wild horses and burros will be critical as they find themselves back in the target zone of political debates set to wipe them out to make way for profiteers with their eyes on public land resources. (Sign up HERE)

As public participation in management decisions through NEPA is on the chopping block, you can still participate in management decision-making. Scroll down to the “Open for Comment” section in blue to see specific plans open for public comment  HERE.

If you are able, we do need your support to keep our critical work alive. We must keep active litigation running to conclusion and launch new cases, rapidly as needed, to keep a strong line of defense.

WHE has been offered a generous Match Challenge to keep our team in the field and to fund the battle in the courts. The Match Challenge will double contributions dollar-for-dollar through March 5, the birthday of Velma Johnston (Wild Horse Annie), up to $5,000.

All of our work is only possible with your support. We thank you for keeping the critical work we do at WHE running for our wild ones.