The Trump Administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal threatens to undo decades of progress in protecting America’s wild horses and burros. By slashing funding for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program by 25% and removing long-standing protections against horse slaughter, the proposal paves the way for the mass killing of up to 64,000 federally protected wild horses and burros currently in government holding facilities.
The American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC), the nation’s leading wild horse advocacy organization, condemned the proposal as an attack on animal welfare and America’s public lands. Executive Director Suzanne Roy stated, “This budget would be a bullet to the head of America’s wild horses if passed by Congress.” She emphasized that slaughter is a barbaric solution to a fundamentally broken federal program and that humane, effective solutions exist, like fertility control and restoring lost habitat, that reflect the will of the American people, 80% of whom want wild horses protected and slaughter banned.
The proposal mirrors the Project 2025 agenda, which calls on Congress to grant BLM authority to “humanely dispose” of federally protected wild horses and burros. This position contradicts President Trump’s stance during his first administration, which took lethal management off the table, citing the President’s lack of support. The FY26 budget revives that threat, putting tens of thousands of wild horses at risk of mass slaughter.
The focus now turns to Congress as the appropriations process moves forward. Last week, 83 bipartisan members of Congress called for humane wild horse management in the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) House Appropriations legislation. Their request for increased funding for fertility control aligns with recommendations of the BLM’s National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board and overwhelming public opinion.
“After decades of costly and ineffective roundups, the BLM now stockpiles more wild horses in government pens than remain free on the range,” added Roy. “Americans deserve a better federal plan that genuinely tackles off-range holding issues without resorting to slaughter.”
The American Wild Horse Campaign continues to lead efforts in advocating for critical reforms, aiming to ensure the long-term well-being and freedom of America’s wild horses and burros.
Among the solutions AWHC advocates for:
• A moratorium on roundups and immediate expansion of fertility control efforts to immediately stop the influx of wild horses and burros to holding facilities.
• A focus on decreasing the holding population in costly short-term corrals by:
• Returning wild horses to reinstated Herd Areas on federal lands.
• Rewilding via partnerships with private landowners and nature preserves.
• Maximizing the use of cost-effective long-term pastures.
• Expanding responsible adoptions through nonprofit collaborations.
• A phase-out of the mass federal holding system in favor of on-range conservation.
“You don’t fix years of government mismanagement by slaughtering the very animals you’re legally-mandated to protect,” Roy concluded. “We’re ready to support real reform, but it starts with halting the flow of wild horses and burros into holding and keeping slaughter off the table.”
