President’s Budget Could Usher in Mass Horse Slaughter, Lethal “Management” aalberg Wed, 06/11/2025 - 18:30 photo by Aleksander Hunta June 11, 2025 Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is deeply concerned that the administration's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget omits critical protections for wild horses and burros, which could allow them to be sold off for commercial slaughter and lethally “managed” to reduce their numbers.Year after year, Congress and the American people have demonstrated their support for our nation’s wild herds. Polling consistently finds that Americans overwhelmingly oppose horse slaughter, and language barring the destruction of wild horses has long been included in appropriations bills for the US Department of the Interior. Moreover, management of federally protected wild horses and burros must be humane and focused on keeping herds in their natural habitats, as mandated by the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. For the coming fiscal year, however, the administration’s proposed budget does not include these safeguards, which could result in the mass killing of tens of thousands of animals. The proposal even allows for the large-scale transfer of our nation’s wild equines to foreign countries, many of which operate commercial horse slaughter plants.The Bureau of Land Management is tasked with managing the vast majority of this country’s wild horses and burros. For decades, as a method of limiting the number of wild equines on the range, the agency has relied on inhumane and costly roundups to chase wild horses into trap pens using low-flying helicopters rather than adopt a proactive approach using humane and proven fertility control methods. Currently, an estimated 64,000 wild horses and burros are being held in off-range holding facilities, making them potential targets for lethal control under this budget proposal. Today, Republican and Democratic co-chairs of the Congressional Wild Horse Caucus and Congressional Animal Protection Caucus sent a letter led by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) to appropriations committee leaders urging them to “retain longstanding prohibitions against the lethal control and commercial destruction” of wild horses and burros.“The proposed budget poses an existential threat to federally protected wild horses by removing protections against slaughter and lethal control, presenting a real risk that these beloved animals could be killed en masse,” said Joanna Grossman, Ph.D., equine program director for AWI. “The leaders of the Congressional Wild Horse Caucus and Congressional Animal Protection Caucus have sent a clear message: These long-standing, widely supported protections cannot simply disappear.”As appropriations legislation advances, AWI will continue working to ensure that these cherished animals—who embody the spirit of freedom and resilience—will be protected for generations to come.  Media Contact Information Marjorie Fishman, Animal Welfare Institutemargie@awionline.org, (202) 446-2128 The Animal Welfare Institute (awionline.org) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to alleviating animal suffering caused by people. We seek to improve the welfare of animals everywhere: in agriculture, in commerce, in our homes and communities, in research, and in the wild. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn for updates and other important animal protection news.