Washington, DC – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01) released the following statement after sending a letter to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) urging the agency to reconsider its FY24 Tentative Wild Horse and Burro Gather and Fertility Control Schedule. 

“Despite a massive increase in roundups throughout the West, BLM’s plan shows no increases in the number of wild horses and burros being treated with fertility control,” said Rep. Titus. “This creates an influx of horses into already overcrowded holding pens, and inevitably leads to more deaths for these icons of the West through the cruel use of helicopters during roundups. This plan is inconsistent with Congressional directives regarding the humane treatment of wild horses on our public lands, and I strongly urge BLM to reconsider the scope of their gather operation in the following months.”


Background
On December 8, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released their Tentative Wild Horse and Burro Gather and Fertility Control Schedule for Fiscal Year 2024. This plan calls for a massive expansion in the number of wild horses and burros set to be rounded up throughout the West.

The FY24 schedule outlines a plan to gather as many as 20,942 horses from thirty-two operations conducted in New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming, California, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, and Colorado. This is a stark increase from the 6,876 animals scheduled for roundups in BLM’s FY23 tentative plan, of which 5,924 were eventually gathered.

Rep. Titus’s letter urges BLM to reconsider the scale of the FY24 Tentative Wild Horse and Burro Gather and Fertility Control Schedule. The letter also calls for the agency to delay implementation until they provide a justification of the plan to Congress and provide details on how they intend to house the increased number of horses and burros gathered in FY24.

Rep. Titus has led Congress in the protection of wild horses by introducing the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act, bipartisan legislation which would eliminate the use of helicopters in BLM wild horse gathers, require a report to explore the benefits of alternative aircraft for humanely gathering horses, and create workforce opportunities for traditional cowboys. 

Additionally, Congresswoman Titus has advocated for the inclusion of language in the FY24 Appropriations package that would mandate increased fertility control use by BLM. 

The full letter can be found HERE.