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BLM sells 200 horses under new law

By ADELLA HARDING - Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 2, 2005 4:10 PM PST

ELKO - Two hundred mares born in Nevada are the first wild horses U.S. Bureau of Land Management has sold under a new law that allows BLM to sell older horses and those not adopted.

BLM sold the horses to a company that plans to give them a home on a ranch roughly 30 miles west of Laramie in southeastern Wyoming.

Wild Horses Wyoming LLC bought the horses for $50 each, or $10,000, according to Tom Gorey of the BLM's Washington office.

"We hope it is the first of many sales," he said Tuesday.

The price for a wild horse isn't set in stone, however. BLM will negotiate each sale, and BLM will be vetting buyers to find homes for the wild horses, rather than selling them for slaughter, Gorey said.

"Yes, we want good buyers," he said.

"As we implement the new sale authority legislation passed by Congress, we are committed to finding long-term care for these wild horses and burros," said BLM Director Kathleen Clarke.

This is the first time in 34 years that BLM has had sale authority. The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act prohibited the sale of horses but allowed adoptions.

"We are working to place as many of these animals as we can in good homes, and we are appealing to wild horse advocacy groups, Indian tribes and humane organizations, as well as the general public, to help us in this effort," she said in a statement from BLM Tuesday.

Gorey said BLM hopes this first sale will spark interest in the wild horses that are up available for sale under the new law.

With the sale of the 200 mares, BLM has an estimated 8,200 wild horses remaining that fall under the scope of the new law, which allows BLM to sell horses age 10 or older or ones that haven't been adopted after three tries.

Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont, introduced the rider, which sparked controversy over fears the wild horses would be sold for their meat.

The first buyer "has pasture land and demonstrated commitment" to give the horses a home, Gorey said.

"I'm very pleased and proud that Wild Horses Wyoming is the BLM's first buyer of wild horses under the legislation recently passed by Congress," said Ron Hawkins, ranch operations partner in the Wyoming company.

"Our company is committed to the long-term care of these historic animals, and I urge the public to support us in our efforts to endure good homes for those horses facing an uncertain future under the new law," he said in a statement BLM issued Tuesday.

Gorey said the Washington BLM office is handling sales now that a team has worked through the "practical and logistical issues." There is one national point of contact for potential buyers.

"We're encouraged by the initial responses," Gorey said.

Nevada BLM spokeswoman Jo Simpson said any inquiries at the state level would be referred to the Washington office.

The agency didn't go through a formal process to develop regulations, however, and the Humane Society of the United States is disappointed the sales started without the public process.

"We were sorry to see BLM move forward with the sale, but we're happy the agency is expressing a commitment to find homes to protect these horses from going to slaughter," Nancy Perry, vice president of government affairs for the Humane Society of the United States, said Tuesday.

"We've been urging BLM to wait to implement the Burns rider until BLM could implement the regulatory process. Several points need public guidance," she said.

Meanwhile, the Humane Society is continuing to support a bill to restore a federal ban against the commercial sale of wild horses and burros. U.S. Reps. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., introduced the bill in January.

"The bill answers the call the public is making for wild horse protection. It's also an extraordinarily popular bill on Capitol Hill," Perry said.

She said the sponsors were getting 30 calls every 10 minutes right after the bill was announced, and they are receiving many personal notes of support from people who want to protect wild horses.

BLM estimates there are 37,000 wild horses and burros on public lands the agency manages in 10 Western states, including 19,000 in Nevada, while the range can support 28,000.

BLM gathers wild horses from the range to keep the numbers down so there is enough water and forage, and the gathered horses are offered for adoption.

They aren't all adopted, however. The agency reported Tuesday there are 24,000 wild horses and burros at short-term facilities in the West and long-term facilities in the Midwest.

BLM estimates the cost of caring for one horse in a long-term facility is $465 per year.

The agency also said 203,000 wild horses have been adopted since 1973, and the adoption program continues separate from the sales authority. Individuals may adopt horses for $125 each.

The toll-free number for those interested in buying a wild horse or burro is 1-800-710-7597, and the e-mail address for those interested in buying horses is wildhorse@blm.

gov.

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