Do you live on a few acres with some pasture and want to add horses or burros to your farm? Now is your chance! The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently launched the wild horse and burro adoption incentive program.
The goal is to encourage more adopters (you!) to give a wild horse or burro a good home. The best part in addition to the fact that you're adopting an animal in need? The program provides up to $1,000 to adopt an untrained wild horse or burro.
More than 4,600 wild horses and burros found good homes last year! To help find even more homes this year, we?re now offering up to $1,000 to adopt your own untrained wild horse or burro. Learn more: https://t.co/qoEY2xyl0i pic.twitter.com/ozWOfsjWbp
— BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program (@BLMWHB) March 12, 2019
Adopters are eligible to receive:
- $500 within 60 days of adoption of an untrained wild horse or burro
- $500 within 60 days of titling the animal
A $25 fee applies to the adoption.
I'm at my limit as far as animals I can adopt for our pasture because we filled it with chickens, but the online adoption gallery almost made me change my mind!
The Program's History
The BLM oversees 26.9 million acres of public lands for wild horses, wild burros and other species. How do we manage wild horse and burro herds so that there's enough resources available for all species?
Learn more: https://t.co/beAJFPeZ5t pic.twitter.com/iyNuAdJcSC
— BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program (@BLMWHB) March 4, 2019
Wild, free-roaming wild horses can be found on public lands across 10 western states. Wild burros roam rangeland in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Oregon. Pursuant to the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service manage wild horses on subsets of public lands where the animals were found upon passage of the Act in 1971.
"Congress unanimously passed the "Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act" (Public Law 92-195) to provide for the necessary management, protection and control of wild horses and burros on public lands. President Richard M. Nixon signed the bill into law on December 15, 1971."
One very important message about this program we learned when researching the facts for this story was that BLM does not overestimate the number of wild horses and burros on the range.
"There were an estimated 25,300 wild horses and burros in 1971, and those numbers rose to a peak of more than 60,000 before the BLM was authorized and able to effectively use helicopters for gathers. If left unchecked, Mother Nature would regulate the wild horse and burro population through the classic boom-and-bust cycle, where the population increases dramatically, food becomes scarce, and the population crashes through starvation or dehydration."
We love this adoption program over here at Wide Open Pets. The BLM's program, equine rescue, humane society or an animal sanctuary are ideal options to explore for horse adoption. Perhaps you're looking for companion horses, a trail horse or a year old mare to add to your hobby farm? Look no further! BLM's adoption fee is only $25. These wild horses and burros need a new home so spread the word!
Will you soon be the proud owner or a wild horse or burro? Share your thoughts below.
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