Law Commons^™

Cowboys Gone Rogue: The Bureau Of Land Management's Mismanagement Of Wild Horses In Light Of Its Removal Procedures Of 'Excess' Wild Horses, Kelsey Stangebye

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In 1971, Congress passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (“the Act”), which made the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) responsible for managing and protecting the free-ranging wild horses and burros on federal public land in the western United States. As the Act permits, the BLM has been removing wild horses from the public range when the BLM determines that an overpopulation of wild horses exists. The excess wild horses are then managed by the BLM in holding facilities for an indefinite period of time. This management practice is unsustainable because the BLM spends nearly two-thirds of their annual …