Washington, DC – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01), a member of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, was joined by Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and Salud Carbajal (D-CA) in sending a letter to the House Natural Resources Committee requesting an oversight hearing of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program.

“After reviewing assessments of the off-range facilities evaluated this year, we are concerned about documented trends of inadequate biosecurity controls, understaffing, lack of recordkeeping, limited access to hay and water, and issues related to pen maintenance,” the Members wrote. “With the BLM planning to roundup at least 22,000 wild horses and burros, under the guise of reaching Appropriate Management Levels that are determined through unclear means and adding to the nearly 60,000 currently confined in BLM facilities, we believe an oversight hearing of the Wild Horse and Burro Program is merited to protect the well-being of captured horses and to ensure that the BLM is focusing its efforts on humane on-range management.”

Background

Congresswoman Titus has a long history of fighting for animal welfare in Congress. Last month, she sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior expressing concerns about recent reports of wild horses suffering from mysterious respiratory and neurological illnesses in BLM facilities.

In February, she introduced the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2022 which would help advance BLM’s directive to humanely capture horses and provide significant savings to taxpayers by ending the use of helicopters in BLM wild horse gathers.

In April, she also led a letter to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies requesting $11 million for immunocontraceptive vaccines and an investigation into the Adoption Incentive Program to prevent the further abuse and slaughter of wild horses.

Congresswoman Titus will continue to defend these iconic denizens of the Wild West.

Read today’s full letter here.

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