FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Mustang round-ups and numbers are very controversial. You will find many different facts on various sites. I took the most common, educated answers and used them for this website. However, there are still hundreds of questions going around! Here are a few.
Aren't mustangs overpopulated?
In the early 1900s, more than 3 million mustangs roamed the west. In the mid 1900s, their numbers dropped so low that the mustangs' very existence was threatened. The Wild Free-Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act was passed in 1971 to pretect the animals. The act put the BLM in charge of managing the horses and burros. However, the numbers are currently so low that the mustangs' survival is in danger once more. Studies have shown that approximently 85% of the mustangs today are below genetic viability. The BLM has made it so that 70% of the horses in the wild are males, and only 30% are female. They also are giving mares medication that causes them to become infertile, which hurts their genetics even more. In 25 years, the American mustang will be extinct. They are extremely underpopulated in the wild.
If the round-ups stopped, would the mustangs become overpopulated?
In the 1971 act, the government gave the mustangs land. However, now much of it has been taken. The mustangs are not trespassing on our land. We are trespassing on theirs.
Yet we can not simply banish humans from the land that they live on now. Because of the lack of land, mustangs, if left unattended, would eventually become overpopulated.
Yet we can not simply banish humans from the land that they live on now. Because of the lack of land, mustangs, if left unattended, would eventually become overpopulated.
Then isn't the BLM doing a good job by controlling the mustang and burros' numbers?
The BLM is doing a very good job controlling the numbers--too good. The amount of round-ups are increasing, and mustangs are inbreeding. The BLM is also conducting their job in an extremely poor manner which is inhumane and unnecessary.
What would be the ideal way to control the mustangs?
First off, we have to get rid of the helicopters. They are loud and terrifying for the horses. Mustangs have been known to be frightened of helicopters years after round-ups. A humane way to coral the horses is to round them up horse-back or using a Judas horse, a horse trained to have mustangs follow them into a corral. This way the mustangs are not forced to run faster than they are made to run.
What happens to the mustangs after the BLM rounds them up?
After the mustangs are rounded up, the BLM takes them to holding pens in different locations. There, the horses are vaccinated, checked by vets, and the colts and stallions are gelded. Then they go to one of four places: 1) The lucky horses are actioned off by the BLM, either in person or on the BLM website. They go for $125, and afterwards $25 each. Some go to good homes, but many others go to people who want to 'break a wild bronco' or people eager to make a hefty profit by selling them off to slaughter. 2) If they are not adopted, some horses are released back into the wild. Oftentimes the mares are first given medications to make them infertile for a certain time period and the stallions are gelded. 3) The horses are moved to a long-time holding facility. These horses and burros are kept here to keep the population of wild mustangs down. 4) The BLM sends the horses to slaughter. An amendment was passed in 2004 that declared any horse over 10 or any horse refused adoption three times can be sold to slaughter. However, the BLM sends other horses there, too.
Why does the BLM continue to round up mustangs?
The BLM makes a profit from removing mustangs from the land. For when they remove mustangs, they can move cattle in. The BLM is in charge of distributing grazing permits, so, the greater the amount of cattle on public land, the greater amount the BLM is being paid. Also, when the BLM sends horses to slaughter, they receive a dollar a pound. This is a considerable profit considering that the average mustang is 800-1000 pounds.
How does the BLM get away with what they do?
It seems that the BLM has everyone on their side. Committees in charge of mustang debates are often full of cattle ranchers. Mustangs rarely win court cases. The BLM conducts staged round-ups for the public to view where they round-up the mustangs closest to the holding pens. When they conduct real round-ups, the police are at the BLM's side to keep the public out. President George Bush destroyed all the hard work done by animal activists by allowing the slaughter of mustangs, increasing round-ups, and speeding up grazing permits. The BLM is government-run, and some people are scared to mess with government. But when lives are on the line, people must bring the public's attention to injustice.
How much does it cost the BLM to care for a single horse/burro?
For 10 years, a taxpayer spends $3,869 for a single mustang at a holding facility. For 15 years, the price raises to $5,803.40.
Can I adopt a mustang?
Yes! With the right care and training, mustangs make wonderful horses.
Are mustangs safe horses to own?
With care, patience, and lots of TLC, mustangs can make fantastic mounts. They have lots of stamina, and make excellent trail and pleasure horses. However, they are wild and require an experianced person to train them. It is much easier to adopt a younger horse so that they are used to humans growing up. They can be more difficult than other breeds to train, but the feeling is well worth it.
Is it bad to adopt a mustang or burro from the BLM?
No. However, it would be better to adopt a mustang from a horse rescue that saves the horses from the BLM. But any mustang would be happy to have a home!
What makes the BLM false and websites like this true?
There is one large difference--the BLM has claims. Sites like this have facts. That does not mean that every Save-the-Mustangs site it completely true, but the mustang cause has science to back up its claims, while the BLM simply has opinion.