The Bureau of Land Management is facing massive public backlash after recommending that 45,000 wild horses be euthanized to make room for profit-generating cattle.

The horses have been removed from their natural habitat and are currently being housed in pens so that they do not disturb the cattle. While the horses are up for adoption at an extremely low cost, they are not being scooped up fast enough, and caring for the wild animals is now eating up roughly $49 million a year, reportedly almost half of the BLM annual budget.

— World Animal News (@WorldAnimalNews) September 13, 2016

Now the bureau's National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board seeks to kill them all to end the monetary burden of the decades-long program.

The Humane Society issued a statement condemning the plan, and alleging that the program’s long term mismanagement has exacerbated the problem. They are also offering to help with humane ways to deal with the problem.

— The Cloud Foundation (@TheCloudFound) September 9, 2016

“The decision of the BLM advisory board to recommend the destruction of the 45,000 wild horses currently in holding facilities is a complete abdication of responsibility for their care. The agency would not be in this situation but for their long-term mis-management,” Humane Society of the United States Senior Vice President of Programs & Innovations Holly Hazard said in a press release. “Alternatives to this proposal have been ignored for over 20 years. The HSUS stands ready to implement these alternatives at any time.”

The Humane Society maintains that by focusing efforts on removing horses and burros from the range, without treating those horses remaining on the range with any form of birth control to limit population growth, the problem has continued to grow.

A petition to block the killing has nearly 40,000 signatures.