The newly released Fiscal Year 2026 roundup schedule accelerates to capture nearly 15,000 wild horses and burros across the western U.S., the “sale program” reaches record numbers rapidly sliding wild horses and burros toward the slaughter pipeline, and rangeland management, ground zero, remains deeply rooted in historic political deals and not transparent data-analysis.
The White House Budget request for fiscal year 2027 that usually kicks off the Appropriations debate has not been released yet (now expected April 3, nine weeks after it was due). However, the window for legislators to get their requests to Appropriations committees for consideration in the draft bill is closing. We do not know how the very late release of the White House request will impact the process as a whole and we will provide updates.
The rundown below on “How to contact your Senators” is the first of many steps a member of the public can take in this process.
For those of you frustrated that simply formalizing the welfare standards within the BLM Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP) is left up to BLM without a directive from Congress, this article from WHE team member Colette Kaluza is for you.
There is still time to reach out to your Senators in the same way that organizations like WHE do.
Wild horse advocates: your senators need to hear from you about FY 2027 funding for humane treatment—right now.
Why the Senate matters this month
Behind every roundup video and holding pen photo is a line in a federal spending bill that either protects horses and burros—or looks the other way. Senators on the Appropriations Committee are deciding the FY 2027 Interior bill now, and they are still taking programmatic funding requests from their own constituents in most states. If we want real, enforceable welfare standards, we have a short window to get this into their hands.
Most of your legislators will provide basic info on Appropriations like the standard calendar
The goal: $1M for real CAWP enforcement
BLM’s Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP) was supposed to make sure wild horses and burros are handled humanely during gathers, transport, and in government facilities. Instead, CAWP is a draft framework without finalized, enforceable rules—and BLM does not even publish a clear CAWP budget line, so the public has no way to see what is actually being spent on welfare versus PR.
Your ask to your senators is simple and concrete:
Of the funds made available for the Wild Horse and Burro Program, not less than 1,000,000 dollars shall be used to complete and formalize science-based and enforceable wild horse and burro welfare standards as part of BLM’s Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP), including the publication for public comment and finalization of regulations.
This is a modest amount inside a roughly 144 million dollar program—but it would finally force BLM to finish CAWP, put real rules in place, and report on outcomes.
What you’re asking your senators to do
You are not asking for a new law or a brand new program. You are asking your two U.S. senators to:
- File a programmatic funding request in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee for the CAWP set aside.
- Support matching bill/report language that:
- Puts the existing draft CAWP out for public comment.
- Finalizes binding, science-based regulations within one year.
- Adds clear thresholds for heat and air quality, burro specific protections, and data-driven foaling season safeguards.
- Requires modern assessment tools, training, inspections, and public reporting on injuries, deaths, foals, and facility conditions.This is narrow, nonpartisan, and about basic humane treatment and better use of taxpayer dollars, not range-size politics or “how many horses on how much land.” How to contact your senators today
You do not need to learn the entire appropriations process. You just need to get a clear request to the right staff before they lock in their FY 2027 submissions.
Find your senators’ appropriations pages
- Find your senators’ appropriations pages
“Constituent request: FY 2027 CAWP programmatic funding for humane wild horse and burro standards”
Paste the funding request and justification (scroll to the bottom of this page for that content)
2. Follow up with a quick call Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 2243121 and ask for each of your senators’ offices. Tell staff:
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- You are a constituent.
- You just emailed a CAWP FY 2027 programmatic funding request.
- You are asking the senator to submit it to the Interior–Environment Appropriations Subcommittee and to support the specific $1,000,000 CAWP line in bill/report language. Even one staffer flagging your request for the appropriations team can make the difference between your language being used or never seen.
Why your voice matters
Offices already have full inboxes and long lists of requests. What cuts through noise is a constituent offering:
A fully drafted, realistic request, targeted to the correct account and subcommittee.
A reasonable dollar amount within an existing program.
A clear public interest rationale: fewer preventable injuries and deaths, less litigation, and a program that finally matches the humane mandate of the 1971 Act. If even a handful of constituents in each state send this CAWP request in the next days, senators will see that humane treatment of wild horses and burros is not fringe—it is a mainstream expectation attached to taxpayer dollars.
If you are engaging and need assistance: Whe.colette@gmail.com
Find your Senators website and look for the “funding” or “appropriations request” tab: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
A template to copy/paste for your submission can be found here.
We thank you for being an active advocate and standing up for Freedom, Mercy and Justice.
Categories: Wild Horse Education
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