The roundup BLM called an “emergency” due to the severe lack of feed after the Jakes Fire is over. The BLM is now saying to the press the roundup was due to “overpopulation.”  “The gather is essential to address herd overpopulation and ensure the future well-being of both the horses and their habitat,” said the BLM in its press release. There was no valid gather plan, the last one expiring in 2022. The only type of roundup BLM had established legal authority to carry out was one attached to the fire rehab plan. No lack of feed was seen on ranges where the cows are already out; captured wild horses all demonstrated great body condition for this time of year.

The little colt in the video above was the first to die. Driven from the Little Humbolt HMA, miles into the Rock Creek HMA over really rough terrain and multiple livestock grazing fences, his legs gave out. BLM called him an adult in their reports stating he was born with “lax tendons.”

Seven wild horses died during the roundup. Each one put down by BLM saying there was something wrong with the horse” blindness, arthritis, bad feet. BLM does not consider a single one of these deaths “gather related,” even though each horse would still be alive if the roundup never took place.

You can find the daily log from this roundup HERE with important background information

All of the captives were sent to the private BLM facility in Winnemucca. For half of this roundup horses went direct from trap to the facility minimizing the number of direct deaths that will be reported to the public. BLM does not publish statistics on injuries or deaths in facilities. You can only find out this information through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

Our team went to the only tour ever offered of this facility since it began taking in wild horses in 2024.

In 2024, from December 28 – Feb 8, BLM captured 2,692 wild horses from the East Pershing Complex and reported that they shipped 2,663 wild horses to this facility (26 died onsite at the roundup, 3 escaped). On numerous occasions BLM shipped direct from trap without sorting mares/stallions/foals at temporary corrals prior to loading semi trucks and shipping to this facility.

After arriving at the facility, 39 had died on or before February 29th. 

The total deaths of wild horses during capture, transport and in the just the first weeks post-capture: 65. 

During the East Pershing roundup render receipts from the facility show 103 deaths. 

Orphan in the Winnemucca facility

BLM likes to say they “comply with” a Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP). They include that statement in the paperwork that gives them the authority to do a roundup (NEPA), include it in roundup contracts and contracts for facilities.

The problem? The program does not have officially formalized enforceable welfare standards. They consistently violate (according to their own reviews) the unenforceable welfare standards that include things like basic documentation and record keeping.

So what exactly are they in compliance with?

Not only does BLM bend the rules and create some type of framework to do roundups that are highly suspect (like illegally delaying actual management planning as ruled in court), but they have done the same with basic welfare issues.

BLM has spent a lot of time and money creating a program that is woefully inefficient on top of a foundation containing standards that do not comply with current equine veterinary standards that never went through any public review period.

It is an abomination that we are forced to fight to gain real welfare rules by an agency that would rather spend millions in taxpayer money building a paper maze with no accountability instead of simply doing what was promised. 

Last month we sent a letter to the Secretary of Interior asking that he be proactive and address the deficits clearly exposed through our FOIA work and litigation. 

Unfortunately, we have low expectations that Doug Burgum will take any proactive steps.

Congress can fix this. 

You can send a letter to your Representatives as their teams begin to craft recommendations for the 2027 Appropriations bill. All lawmakers must have their recommendations submitted by the end of next month. Our teams are doing outreach… and you can help.

You can send a letter directly to your representatives… just click here. 

Or you can find your representatives at govtrack.us

You can use the letter below as a starting point to draft your own.

Re: Request for FY 2027 Line Item to Complete and Formalize Wild Horse and Burro Welfare Rules

Dear [Senator/Representative] [Last Name]

I am writing as a constituent to urge you to include a specific line item in the FY 2027 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill directing and funding the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to complete, formalize, and implement a set of formal and enforceable rules as a foundation for the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP) for the Wild Horse and Burro Program.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act turns 55 years old this year. It is long past time that wild horses and burros have enforceable welfare rules. A main tenet of the Act is humane management. Yes for 55 years the agency balks at creating enforceable standards that include public participation. 

Recently released internal BLM emails—disclosed only after years of FOIA requests and litigation—confirm that the agency has failed to carry out the very welfare reforms it promised Congress, the courts, and the public. These records show that BLM never conducted a single meaningful review of the CAWP gather standards issued under its 2015 Instruction Memorandum and never properly used the CAWP Gather Assessment Tool to evaluate training, measure effectiveness, or ensure compliance by staff and contractors. Despite public assurances that CAWP was being reviewed and “formalized,” leadership instead allowed the assessment tool to be quietly deleted by 2018 without a single program-wide review.

This pattern of neglect and misrepresentation has real-world consequences for animals and for public trust. The FOIA emails and extensive field documentation from advocates show that most injuries, illnesses, and deaths at roundups are preventable and stem from management choices, not inevitability. BLM has also failed to incorporate basic equine welfare safeguards—such as air quality and heat index thresholds—into its standards, and has excluded independent veterinarians, outside experts, and the public from any meaningful role in defining humane treatment or evaluating gathers. These failures directly undermine Congress’s intent in the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and erode confidence in BLM’s stewardship.

The lack of fully implemented and enforceable welfare standards as part of leaves both animals and taxpayers exposed: animals suffer avoidable harm, while Congress and the public cannot verify that appropriated funds are being used in a humane, accountable manner.

To address these problems, I respectfully request that you champion a clear FY 2027 line item that:

1. 1. Directs BLM to complete and formalize enforceable welfare standards as part of CAWP as binding regulations covering gathers, transport, and all on- and off-range holding facilities, with deadlines and reporting requirements to Congress.
   2. Provides dedicated funding for:
      • Comprehensive, science-based welfare standards (including heat index and air-quality thresholds, facility design, and handling practices).
      • Transparent, routine assessments of gathers and holding facilities, using a restored and modernized assessment tool with public reporting.
      • Meaningful inclusion of independent veterinarians, welfare experts, and public stakeholders in developing and reviewing CAWP standards.

1. 1. Conditions a portion of Wild Horse and Burro Program funding on demonstrated implementation of CAWP requirements and submission of annual CAWP review reports to the Appropriations Committees.

True transparency is essential for restoring public trust. For that reason, I also urge you to ensure that any CAWP-focused line item includes requirements that:

• • Members of the public, press, and qualified observers have meaningful, safe, and reasonably close access to observe helicopter and bait-trap roundups.
  • Holding facilities (short- and long-term) are subject to regular, announced and unannounced inspections, with reasonable public access to view animals and facility conditions timely post-capture.

BLM leaders themselves have acknowledged in past congressional testimony that accountability to a comprehensive animal welfare program is essential to maintain public confidence and avoid a crisis in trust. The newly disclosed emails show that, without clear direction and resources from Congress, that accountability will not materialize on its own. A focused FY 2027 line item is necessary to finish what was started in 2015, restore integrity to the program, and ensure that humane treatment and transparency are more than just talking points.

As your constituent, I ask that you:

• • Support and introduce language in the FY 2027 Interior appropriations bill to fund and direct the completion and implementation of CAWP regulations as outlined above.
  • Publicly call on the Department of the Interior and BLM to release a concrete timetable for CAWP rulemaking, stakeholder engagement, and implementation, and to provide Congress with regular progress updates.

Americans derive a deep sense of pride from seeing wild horses and burros free on our public lands, and they expect their government to treat these animals humanely and honestly, in full view of the public eye. I hope you will seize this opportunity in the FY 2027 budget to align the BLM’s practices with that expectation and to protect both these iconic animals and the public trust.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your service. I would appreciate a written response outlining the steps you are willing to take to ensure that CAWP regulations are finally completed, implemented, and made transparent to the public.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[City, State]

You can send a letter directly to your representatives… just click here. 

Please join us in pushing Congress to recognize the words “humane management” are meaningless without actual humane on-range management planning (HMAPs) and a real set of enforceable welfare rules… and to do something about it. 

Every mile we travel to cover roundups or assess a herd, every court case we bring, every win, every action we take is only possible because of your support. Thank you for standing with us as we strive for justice, mercy and freedom. We cannot do this without you.