Wild Horses Need Voices

LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IN ALL WILD HORSE MATTERS

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and its livestock industry allies continue to push a disinformation campaign aimed to mislead Congress, the news media, and the American people about the impacts of wild equines on our public rangelands.

On most designated wild horse Herd Management Areas, livestock heavily outnumber wild equines and are allocated the majority of the forage. Primacy of access was not allocated to commercial livestock in the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act” (Public Law 92-195) or any of the modifications enacted since.

When pressed for information by the public or the media, the BLM freequently denies that records exist or simply does not respond to the inquiry. The vast majority of FOIA (Freedom of Information Requests) are unanswered.

Credit: Scott Beckstead

The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) false narrative about a purported overpopulation of wild horses serves as a stark example of the detrimental effects of government disinformation. Despite scientific evidence suggesting otherwise, the BLM has perpetuated the myth of wild horse overpopulation to justify its controversial policies of roundups, removals, and mass sterilization programs. By disseminating this false narrative, the BLM has obscured the true motives behind its actions and obscured the public's understanding of the issue.

The BLM’s disinformation is dangerous because it undermines the democratic principle of transparency and accountability. The BLM, as a government agency, has a duty to provide accurate information to the public. But by promoting the idea of wild horse overpopulation, it has misled citizens, the news media, and federal and state policymakers, creating a distorted perception of the situation on public lands. This deception erodes public trust in the BLM and hampers efforts to hold the agency accountable for its actions.

Equally important is the fact that the BLM's false narrative has led to unconscionable abuses against wild horses. By portraying these animals as a threat to rangeland health and biodiversity, the agency justifies aggressive management tactics that harm the wild horses. Helicopter roundups in particular subject these animals to stress, injury, and even death, while mass sterilization programs pose significant risks to their health and well-being. In the absence of accurate information, wild horses become scapegoats for broader issues such as habitat degradation by and competition with commercial livestock, perpetuating their mistreatment and marginalization.

The BLM's disinformation contributes to the consolidation of power and influence within the agency. By controlling the narrative surrounding wild horse management, the BLM can advance its agenda without meaningful scrutiny or opposition. This lack of transparency enables the agency to prioritize the interests of powerful stakeholders such as ranchers and extractive industries, while disregarding the concerns of conservationists, animal welfare advocates, and the general public.

The Bureau of Land Management's false narrative about wild horse overpopulation exemplifies the corrosive effects of government disinformation. By distorting the truth, the BLM undermines democracy, facilitates animal abuse, and consolidates its power at the expense of public trust and accountability. It is imperative that citizens remain vigilant in challenging such disinformation and holding government agencies accountable for their actions. Only through transparency, honesty, and informed public discourse can we ensure the ethical and responsible management of our public lands and the protection of our historic wild herds.

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The BLM’s own data shows that livestock, not wild horses, are responsible for the vast majority of overgrazing on Nevada’s public lands, yet still the agency pushes the false assertion that horses are creating the problems. Wild horses are only found on 12 percent of BLM managed public lands.

The analysis done in 2022 by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) that analyzed the BLM’s own data to show that horses and burros are being wrongly scapegoated for harm that is directly attributable to cattle and sheep. BLM Weighs Wild Horse Impact Much More Heavily Than Cattle - PEER.org.

Rather than pushing anti-horse propaganda designed to diminish public support for wild horses, state, local and federal agencies should be embracing the economic opportunity the wild horses represent and promoting these beautiful animals as valued members of their wild rangeland ecosystem.

Horses have also been identified as a potential solution to wildfires, since they control the spread of cheatgrass and other wildfire fuels. Especially in areas prone to wildfires and unsuitable for livestock, horses should be viewed as a viable working solution and ally.

FOIA requests which are answered are often heavily redacted. Often the claim of FOIA exemption 6 is cited for non-disclosure. As written, exemption 6 is misused for this purpose. There is no valid reason to deny the public access to information to protect entities who have entered into contracts with the BLM for various reasons.

As intended on inception, Exemption 6 exists only protects employees of the government.