‘Managing’ wild horses and burros in the US

Meredith S. Hou

Chapter 67 in Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Animal Law, 2025, pp 251-254 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In the United States, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 mandates that the United States Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service protect and manage wild horses and burros on public lands, declaring these animals ‘an integral part of the natural system of the public lands’. Most disputes arise from disagreement over how the agencies should go about fulfilling this mandate. In practice, the agencies establish allowable population levels within wild horse and burro habitat designed to achieve a ‘thriving natural ecological balance’; if a census indicates that the population has exceeded this level, the excess animals are removed and transported to government off-range holding facilities. Here, the wild horses and burros are prepared for private placement. Fertility control treatments are increasingly used to stem population growth as a more humane alternative to removals and holding.

Keywords: Wild horse; Burro; Protection; Fertility control; Appropriate management level; Removal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781803923666
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