Washington, DC – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01), a member of the Animal Protection Caucus, and Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) introduced the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Protection Act. This legislation would protect wild horses and burros from slaughter and ensure their humane management.

This bill amends the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to provide much-needed reforms to federal wild horse and burro management. The Act promotes humane management strategies, increases transparency and good government, protects wild horses and burros from slaughter, and promotes partnerships with nonprofit organizations and veterans.

“Nevada is home to the largest population of wild horses in the nation and I have seen time and time again how they continue to be endangered, both during roundups and after they have been removed from the land,” said Rep. Titus. “This bill will ensure that these creatures are treated with respect and care. I will continue to fight for animal welfare and the protection of these iconic denizens of the Wild West.”

Background

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Protection Act would make key reforms to federal wild horse management including:

• Prohibits the slaughter of wild horses and burros including in situations when an adoption demand did not exist.
• Requires the use of humane, minimally invasive, scientifically proven fertility control and prioritization of humane management strategies such as fertility control.
• Requires creation and enforcement of regulations to ensure animal welfare for all aspects of wild horse and burro handling and management.
• Prohibits cash incentives for adopting a wild horse or burro; prohibits adopters from sending these animals to slaughter; and requires compliance checks for adopters.
• Requires the Secretary to track and report the number of wild horses or burros killed or injured during a roundup in a database that is available to the public online.
• Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to issue a report on humane alternatives to the use of helicopters in managing wild horses and burros.

In February, Congresswoman Titus introduced the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2022. This bill will help advance the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) directive to humanely capture horses and provide significant savings to taxpayers. Parts of this bill were included in the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Protection Act.

Full text of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Protection Act can be found here.

A Fact Sheet of the bill can be found here.

A Section-By-Section summary of the bill can be found here.