Blm Stiffens Rules On Wild Horse Adoptions More Monitoring Aims To Halt Early Slaughter, Profiteering
The federal government announced tougher regulations Wednesday aimed at keeping wild horses and burros out of the slaughterhouse. The crackdown came 3-1/2 months after The Associated Press revealed abuses in a program designed to find homes for the animals.
“There were allegations made, we checked into those allegations, we decided a number of changes needed to be made and we’re making them,” said Bob Johns, a spokesman with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
The BLM manages about 42,000 wild horses and burros on public lands in 10 Western states. During the past 25 years, more than 175,000 of the animals have been rounded up and placed with adopters for about $125 each.
Earlier this year, the AP found out that thousands of the animals were being slaughtered and that BLM employees were profiting. The AP also discovered that the BLM had lost track of about 32,000 animals placed with adopters.
Under the new guidelines, new adopters will be contacted within six months, home inspections will increase and BLM employees will no longer be allowed to adopt at reduced prices.
“We’re going to be checking in on more adopters to make sure horses are properly cared for, we’re going to spot-check slaughterhouses to make sure they comply with the law, and we’re going to keep better track of horses and adopters,” said BLM acting director Sylvia Baca.
Also, adopters who care for an animal for one year can apply for title of ownership to the animal, and those who don’t apply after 15 months will be contacted by the BLM.
Baca said the agency will work to ensure that no untitled wild horse or burro is slaughtered and processed for human consumption.
However, Johns said in Washington that the agency will not end its policy of allowing titled horses to be sold to slaughter - often for profit. Animal rights groups have argued that federal law prohibits selling an adopted horse for slaughter even after the adopter obtains a title.
“We are confident of our interpretation of the law which essentially says once horses become titled they are private property and are no longer protected,” he said.
Several horse slaughterhouse managers have said they routinely kill wild horses without checking whether the government still has legal title to the animals. The horses are recognizable by distinct federal freeze brands on their necks.
On Wednesday, Jack Bond, manager of the Central Nebraska Packing horse slaughterhouse, said BLM spot checks “wouldn’t bother me a bit.”
“Whatever I get I have a title for,” he said. “I just don’t take the untitled horses.”
Baca also announced that complaints about alleged criminal activity in the horse adoption program would now be referred to the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, which investigates charges of public corruption.