photo by Carol Walker

by Bonnie Kohleriter

In the proposal supported by the ASPCA, HSUS, Return to Freedom and the American Mustang Foundation, they propose helping the BLM to increase the adoptions for 45,000-60,000 wild horses and burros they want to remove from public lands in only 3 years.

The ASPCA has claimed ”In 2017, Edge Research identified 2.3 million adults who have both the resources and the desire to adopt a horse right now. This means that the BLM’s adoptions each year could increase significantly with our groups’ promotion and expertise.”

However, Bonnie Kohleriter questions this and notes the following:

This study was based on domestic horses, not wild horses and burros.

This study suggests 1.25 million households are available for taking horses. The study suggests we just need to better communicate between organizations with “unwanted horses” and applicants that will take horses in order to get the horses adopted.

So, the 3036 people called represent entire the U.S. population. 16 of those people called represents people qualified to take horses, people interested in taking horses and people who have had a horse in the last 5 years. 16 of those people called also represents 1.25 million households and 2.18 million people.

But would the 16 people representing 2.18 million United States citizens be qualified to take wild horses and to have the set up?

ASPCA uses this one study to claim increased adoptions for wild horses & burros are possible what, for 12, 000 yearly, 20,000 yearly, 60+ thousand over 3-5 years? ASPCA suggests you just need to increase communication between the BLM gathering horses and the applicant.

Does this study give you facts by which to conclude adoptions in good, safe, long term homes can be increased from 3000+ currently to 12,000, 20,000, 60,000 or 132,000 for mustangs, simply by increased communication?

Does the number “16” give you confidence that 2.18 million individuals are waiting out there to adopt our mustangs, if we just talk more to them?

It is my opinion that the evidence isn’t there to substantiate the specific proposals presented in Rep. Chris Stewart’s proposal to Congress titled “The Path Forward for Management of BLM’s Wild Horses & Burros,” and certainly not for increased adoptions.

It is a tragedy that our Congressional members know so little about our wild horses and burros and that they may not know enough to call out these simplistic, non-credible, unrealistic actions presented by the participants of this plan.