Bipartisan Language Advances in House Appropriations Bill Prohibits Slaughter of Wild Horses and Burros

Strategic Insights -

Advances in the fiscal year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill, which continues to prohibit the slaughter of wild horses and burros, have been welcomed by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC). The organizations are urging the full committee to prioritize humane fertility control as an alternative to the costly and inhumane roundup-and-removal system.

The House bill appropriations $144 million for the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program and rejects efforts to allow the BLM to transfer animals outside the public eye. Horse transfers will be limited to federal, state, or local agencies for use as work animals, and prohibitions remain in place against the destruction of healthy horses and burros or their sale for slaughter.

"We applaud the House Appropriations Committee for including provisions in the FY26 Interior bill that bar the slaughter and lethal control of wild horses and burros," said Joanna Grossman, Ph.D., equine program director for AWI. "These longstanding protections, which had been removed in the administration's proposed budget, reflect the will of the American people who want to see these iconic animals protected, not butchered at slaughter plants."

Key Takeaways:

  • The House Appropriations Committee has advanced bipartisan language in its fiscal year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill that prohibits the slaughter of wild horses and burros.
  • The bill rejects the president's recent budget request, which would have allowed for the large-scale transfer of wild horses and burros to foreign countries such as Canada and Mexico.
  • The bill appropriates $144 million for the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program and rejects efforts to allow the BLM to transfer animals outside the public eye.
  • Horse transfers will be limited to federal, state, or local agencies for use as work animals, and prohibitions remain in place against the destruction of healthy horses and burros or their sale for slaughter.
  • AWHC's fertility control program on Nevada's Virginia Range near Reno has delivered more than 10,000 treatments over the past five years, demonstrating the scalability and effectiveness of humane, on-range wild horse management.
  • The House bill's release coincides with the introduction of the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2025, which would phase out helicopter roundups over two years and require cameras on helicopters to improve public oversight.

Statistics:

  • $144 million: The amount of funding allocated for the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program in the House bill.
  • 1,600: The number of wild horses to be rounded up in Wyoming's Adobe Town Herd Management Area.
  • 62,000: The number of wild horses and burros currently confined in BLM's holding facility.
  • 10,000: The number of fertility control treatments delivered by AWHC's fertility control programs in both state-managed and federal herds over the past five years.
  • 4%: The percentage of the BLM's budget allocated to humane fertility control, despite previous congressional directives.

Sources:

  • Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Press Release, dated [no date mentioned]
  • American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) Press Release, dated [no date mentioned]
  • Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2025, led by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and co-sponsored by Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) and Steve Cohen (D-TN)