Are Wild Horses & Burros Overpopulated?
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) frequently states that wild equines are overpopulated, and many believe it without question. The BLM's claims are correct and based on science, right? Maybe not. Let's dig into this deeper - you may be surprised at what we find.
First, it is necessary to note that the BLM's leadership is very much against wild horses and burros. Why? Because many 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 influence in the BLM's decision making. Not to mention that nearly every member of the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board is for livestock and against wild horses; this is obvious by their statements and votes during board meetings.
The BLM's method for population counts is not efficient. The Double Observer Method is conducted over several days as the BLM counts wild horses and burros from an airplane 500+ feet above ground in the Herd Management Area (HMA). The horses appear as 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 takes several days to complete.1
In 2022, the wild equine population in Twin Peaks was determined using two different methods. One method showed that there were 1,500 wild horses and burros (Transect Strip Method, which takes one day to complete), while the method commonly used by the BLM showed the population to be 3,500 (Double Observer Method).2 For example, in 2022, the BLM claimed that the population of wild horses in the Wyoming Checkerboard was 5,000 horses and planned to remove 3,500 horses. They would've been close to removing the last mustangs in that complex because they counted hundreds more than were present.
The BLM currently manages 245 million acres of public land. Livestock are allowed to graze on 155 million acres, while wild horses are restricted to 27 million acres (although most of that is shared with livestock). 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 and 1,000,000 domestic livestock on the wild horses and burros' land.3 The livestock's excessive use of the range is damaging to the wildlife populations and ecosystem, whereas wild horses and burros are proven to benefit the land and wildlife.
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 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 affect the wildlife - to grow instead. Livestock are not well suited for life in the West and usually have a poor impact on the land.
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 and affects other animal populations. The BLM's website states, "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 livestock. Still, this is no excuse for removing horses and burros from the wild. If mustangs, burros, and wild predators were left alone, herd numbers would easily stay in check without human management. In the meantime, the BLM could use an effective and humane population control method such as PZP (a fertility control vaccine).
For example, in 2023, wild horses in the Pryor Mountains had reached a higher population count than the herd had experienced for many years. There were 209 horses on the range. That year, predators (mainly cougars) began moving back into the range after being killed off several years earlier. Due to that, the mortality rate was high, and by January 2024, the population count had decreased to 202 horses. Contrary to popular opinion, predators are effective at keeping wild horse and burro populations in check.
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 cause wild horse populations to breed at higher rates than normal to keep the species alive.5
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 allow livestock to continue grazing on our public lands. The horses aren't anywhere close to being overpopulated and destroying the land. Instead, it is the cattle and sheep who trample the grounds, foul water sources, endanger native species (like the sage grouse), and dry 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.
2Twin Peaks, Wild Horses Wild Lands, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lftvyrj4PY
Horses are overpopulated. So many horses are getting killed each and every day. I am only 12 but I know my facts. I love horses and want to help them in every way I can. So please do not breed more horses into this world. Instead rescue horses and give them another chance. Most people think rescued horses are dangerous. Or that they are not a beautiful as breeder horses. Believe me, some rescued horses are dangerous, but some are really sweet. And they are just a beautiful as any other horse. So please I beg you, help these horses who are misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting! Yes, I would agree that there are far too many domesticated horses. However, wild horses and burros are not overpopulated.
DeleteI don't breed horses and never will. My horse rescue, Mustang Mission, focuses on rescuing wild horses and burros that have been removed from the wild. Rescued horses are wonderful companions and I will always have rescued horses!
Thank you for being a voice for forgotten equines!
I agree that the cattle and sheep are causing more environmental issues than the wild horses! The cattle and sheep owners are the big problems and should be required to feed their animals since they make money from them! Our wild animals should get first and only priority on Our public lands!!
ReplyDeletePatricia
I agree that the BLMs counting of the wild horses and burros is seriously faulty and done in favor of the Ranchers! It guess more horrendous helicopter roundup/ kills in order to give more grazing land to the Ranchers owned animals. The Ranchers should have to feed their animals and Our wild animals should live on Our public lands!! Nobody feeds my animals for me but me!!
ReplyDeleteWow, I have been following the "wild horses & burros" welfare, survival, and more, for over 60 years, and I started way before I ever left home. I had "paper records & files" (before computers) from BLM and was able to keep track of herds, numbers, movement, and everything about them. On November 30, 2011, Barack Obama signed the horse slaughter bill into effect, and "kill plants" started retrofitting their facilities to kill horses again. That's in addition to all the "crap" that has been done to the horses & burros all these many years including roundups, separating families so they never saw each other again. The "1971 WFRHBA) was a law passed by Congress to protect wild horses and burros on public lands."The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act" has been altered several times over the years, just like the act signed into law by Barack Obama. BLM has done it's own changes as well including the use of "helicopters" that chase, run to death, break necks, kill in horrible ways, those that could not keep up running in "blazing hot weather" with escaping the helicopters. The ranchers have "rented BLM land" for pennies-on-the-dollar and fenced-off grazing & watering holes, which means that the "cows & sheep" eat all the good grasses, drink all the good water, and the "wild horses & burros" go without. Many have been found dead on the outside of the ranchers fenced-off watering holes. Not good, not fair, but that's how they have been treated. They had also been shot to death by "mystery killers" and in a couple of cases, an entire herd has been shot to death. Horrible abuse by anyone's standards. Some rescues have done a great job in adopting wild horses out to people, but many wild horses & burros have been sold to "kill buyers" that are adopting so they can take them to the "kill plants." Everyone's greedy! Follow the money & you will usually find the answer. Also follow the "back doors" that have allowed sales of horses & burros without any records whatsoever, making it difficult to ever find out what has happened to all the ones missing. All our "wildlife" everywhere should be free without humans getting involved. I'm sure the wild stallions, mares, and all their families would appreciate being left to live their lives "free again!"
ReplyDelete