Washington, D.C. (September 13th, 2016) - Last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) canceled research into how to most humanely and effectively spay and neuter wild horses and burros. Responsible sterilization could help stem the exploding wild horse populations on federal lands in the West. Yet the BLM dropped the project under the threat of litigation by a special interest group. BLM Director Neil Kornze has said his agency is GǣoverwhelmedGǥ by the growing herds, and described the situation as dire. The wild horse and burro population is nearly triple what the rangelands can support. As a result, the lands are being obliterated and the horses are dying of thirst and starvation.

If the horse population was properly managed, the rangelands could be restored and ample food and water would be available to the animals that these lands must support. But the BLM has now called off even mere research into spaying and neutering methods already deployed on a large scale by the veterinarian community in a safe and effective manner. Federal land managers and Congress must find a solution to the exploding population growth before further irreparable damage is done. It is inhumane to these wild horses and burros for special interest groups to bring lawsuits against humane management practices.

For suing the BLM's efforts to responsibly manage the wild horse and burros populations and for the BLM surrendering to this lawsuit, we give the litigious groups and the BLM each four bulls: