The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will host a virtual hearing on the use of motorized vehicles in the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program The meeting is scheduled for April 29, 2026, 12-2 p.m. MT, and will be held using Microsoft Teams video conferencing technology. 

CLICK HERE to register to provide oral testimony.

Written comments can be sent to BLM_HQ_MotorizedVehicleHearing@blm.gov. They must be submitted prior to 3 p.m. MT on April 29, 2026.

The slots to give testimony fill up fast. 

Public Alert: BLM Motorized Vehicle Hearing on Wild Horse and Burro Management

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will host a virtual public hearing on the use of motorized vehicles in the Wild Horse and Burro Program, and the public has a critical opportunity to speak out. This legally required “motorized vehicle hearing” is the only national forum where advocates can comment on how helicopters, trucks, ATVs, and other vehicles are used to round up, transport, and confine wild horses and burros.

Why this hearing matters

Congress reinstated the use of motorized vehicles for wild horse captures in 1976, but it also required annual public hearings to address concerns that such methods could be inhumane. Yet, despite the label “hearing,” BLM routinely treats these sessions as a box‑checking exercise, citing the meetings as the sole “analysis” of impacts instead of actually taking testimony and data into account on how helicopter drives, long trailer hauls, and rough terrain affect horses and burros and creating enforceable standards.

Helicopter drive-trapping is particularly deadly to wild burros.

How the hearing is being misused

Wild Horse Education has documented that BLM routinely claims each round‑up plan complies with law because the Motorized Vehicle Hearings “analyze” vehicle impacts, even though the hearings produce no formal analysis document, no clear decisions, and no binding reforms. At the same time, the agency’s Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP)—which is supposed to ensure humane treatment—was never properly vetted through public rulemaking and has repeatedly failed to prevent injury and trauma in the field.

So the process (these hearings) that is supposed to fulfill the analysis requirement for any roundup plan provides no actual analysis and no other process fills that gap.

Even if you feel ignored and discouraged, do not give up. Get louder. 

What voters and advocates should demand

This year’s hearing is a chance to demand a real analysis document of public comments and reforms including:

• Clear rules on helicopter minimum altitude and distance from horses, burros, and ground personnel.

• Limits on trailer speeds and road‑condition standards to reduce injuries and deaths during transport.

• A ban on using ATVs to chase or herd animals in any manner for any reason.

• Requirement that foaling‑season protections are defined site‑by‑site and enforced.

• A ban on helicopter trapping for wild burros; using BLM’s own data death rates in burro populations can rise as high as 24% in subset population (pregnant and nursing jennies).

How to participate

The hearing is virtual, and members of the public must register in advance to speak; written comments can also be submitted to the BLM’s designated email address. Oral testimony and written submissions are vital not only to express concern, but to help build a legal record that can be used in future litigation and advocacy.

If you support humane treatment of wild horses and burros, mark your calendar, register, and use your voice at this hearing. The animals on the range cannot be in the room—but the public can.

Moving so fast to “get numbers,” trailer doors were not secured

We will publish sample comments prior to the date of the hearing. 

We urge you to sign up and speak up. 

We thank you for being an active advocate and standing up for Freedom, Mercy and Justice. 

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.