Are Wild Horses & Burros Overpopulated?

This is a common statement made by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and many believe it without question.  The BLM's claims are correct and science based, right?  Maybe not.  Let's dig into this deeper - you may be surprised at what we find.

First, we need to begin by saying that BLM's leadership is very much against wild horses and burros.  Why?  Because ranchers in the livestock industry hate wild horses and burros since they compete for the forage on the range.  Ranchers have a lot of power and money to use in the BLM's decision making.  Not to mention, that nearly every member on the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board is for livestock and against wild horses; this is obvious by the statements they make and how they vote during board meetings.

The BLM's method for population counts is not efficient.  The Double Observer Method is done over several days where the BLM counts wild horses and burros from an airplane 500+ feet above ground in the Herd Management Area (HMA).  The horses appear as tiny specks when that high in the air, so the BLM has to determine whether that speck is a horse, burro, cow, sheep, or another large wild mammal.  Also, they're likely counting horses and burros multiple times since this counting method is conducted over several days.1

Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range

In Twin Peaks, one study says that there are 1,500 wild horses and burros (Transect Strip Method, which is done over one day) and the other saying that there are 3,500 (Double Observer Method).2  For example, in the Wyoming Checkerboard, the BLM says that the population number is at 5,000 horses and plans to remove 3,500 horses in the next year.  They may actually be close to removing the last mustangs in that complex because they counted hundreds more horses than are actually present.

Right now, privately owned livestock are permitted to graze on more than 60% of public lands, while wild horses and burros are only permitted to graze on 11%.  The BLM "estimates" that there are about 88,000 wild horses and burros on public lands, yet recent congressional reports state that there are between 700,000-1,000,000 domestic livestock - not to mention all of the sheep - on the wild horses and burros' land.3  The wild horses and burros are being forced out and this is very wrong and damaging on the wildlife populations and ecosystem.

The forage that this cow is laying on should be more than a foot high and not patchy.  The cattle in McCullough Peaks have been given a portion of the range for grazing that is fenced off from the wild horses.

Privately owned livestock inhabit many other public lands, including national parks, such as the Grand Tetons.  The livestock (such as cattle and sheep) are allowed to run rampant, with little management, and the ranchers often keep their cattle on the land longer than their permit allows.  The livestock graze areas down to the dirt, allowing non-native grasses and weeds - which do not benefit the wildlife - to grow instead.  Livestock's invasion of the west has had a terrible effect on everything there.

The government also allows and assists in killing predators (like wolves, bear, and cougars) to protect the livestock.  This removes the natural predation on wild horse and burro herds, as well as affecting other populations of animals.  On the BLM's website they say, "Unchecked herds double in size every four years, due to a lack of natural predators and a rapid growth rate."4  Yes, there is a lack of predators, and that is because they are constantly being killed in horrific ways for the safety of domestic cattle.  Still, this is no excuse for removing horses and burros from the wild.  If wild horses and burros and wild predators were left alone, herd numbers would easily stay in check, without any human management.

For example, in 2017 and 2018 when wild horse foals in the Pryor Mountains were being preyed upon by the mountain lions, the mortality rate was much higher than the number of foals born that year.  In fact, in 2017, The Cloud Foundation noted that there were twelve more horses in 2016 than in 2017, and the population numbers were declining.5  Predators do work naturally to keep wild horse and burro populations in check.

Oceana, a mustang mare that recently died from natural causes - giving birth to her foal.

Removals via helicopter roundups and bait trapping also backfire.  Compensatory reproduction is a natural occurrence with wild horses and burros (and all wildlife) as a response to more predation than normal, disease, and environmental challenges - including roundups.  Scientists have found that the BLM's roundups actually cause wild horse populations to breed at higher rates than normal in an effort to keep the species alive.6

So are wild horses and burros overpopulated?  No.  This is a big, blatant lie from the BLM so they can place the blame on the wild horses and burros and get livestock on every inch of your public lands.  The horses aren't anywhere close to being overpopulated.  Instead, it is the cattle and sheep that are trampling the grounds, fouling water sources, endangering native species (like the sage grouse), and drying up rivers.  Livestock is the population problem, not the horses.

We need to straighten out this issue with wild horse and burro management and the destruction occurring on our public lands; and put the blame where it is due - the Bureau of Land Management.

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1Twin Peaks, Wild Horses Wild Lands, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lftvyrj4PY
2Twin Peaks, Wild Horses Wild Lands, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lftvyrj4PY

3Private ranching influences government policy, American Wild Horse Campaign, https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/problem

4Wild Horse and Burro Program, Bureau of Land Management, https://www.blm.gov/whb

5Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range EA Comments, The Cloud Foundation, https://www.thecloudfoundation.org/comments-and-articles/pryor-ea-comments

6Cruel roundups create a vicious cycle, American Wild Horse Campaign, https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/problem