In 1971, Congress unanimously passed the “Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act,” declaring these iconic animals to be “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West” that “enrich the lives of the American people” and are “an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.” The only other animal to receive federal protection is the Bald Eagle.
What is the AWHC?
The American Wild Horse Campaign works to protect America’s wild horses and burros by stopping the federal government’s systematic elimination of these national icons from our public lands.
AWHC’s comprehensive approach — through advocacy and grassroots mobilization, legislative and policy action, litigation, scientific collaboration, habitat stewardship, hands-on implementation of field solutions, and rescue of individual horses and burros when necessary and possible — is unique in the field of wild horse advocacy and has placed AWHC at the forefront of the fight to secure the future of the West’s wild horses and burros.
The Issue
Each year, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, spends more than $100 million a year to round up thousands of wild horses and burros with helicopters from our public lands and ship them to holding pens and pastures where taxpayers must pay to house and feed them. A small percentage will be adopted, but most will remain in holding pens and pastures for life, and some end up in the slaughter pipeline.
Once wild horses and burros are captured, they are often replaced on public lands by privately-owned cattle and sheep, as a part of taxpayer-subsidized public lands ranching. Of the 245 million acres of federal public lands, wild horses are present on a mere 27 million acres, and private cattle graze on 155 million acres. Wild horses are not present on 88% of public lands.
How YOU Can Help
50% of each Hart Outfitters x AWHC scrunchie sold will fuel the American Wild Horse Campaign’s life-saving programs.
Sign up for AWHC’s email list to stay up to date on the latest ways you can help: https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/wild-horses-dont-let-them-become-history
Visit AWHC’s Action Center where you will find the most recent actions and petitions: https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/action-center
Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be directed to your members of Congress. You can say, “I'm [Name] from [City/Town] and I'm calling to ask that [Rep/Sen] please support the use of PZP fertility control as a may to humanely manage wild horses and burros on Western public lands. Thank you."