10/16/2026
As reported yesterday by Wyoming Public Media, Wyoming is requesting permission to kill wild horses and burros and is calling on Congress to roll back protections for these animals, including allowing the killing of healthy, un-adopted animals.
The proposal would seek to authorize the use of helicopters and motor vehicles by just about anyone to capture or kill wild horses and burros, just like in the old mustanger days. The proposal also calls for restoring federal funding for horse slaughter inspections or allowing states to fund those inspections themselves, potentially opening the door to horse slaughter in the United States once again.
You can read the Wyoming Public Media article and draft proposal here. Click on the “Draft Proposal” link in the article to access the proposal directly: https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/natural-resources-energy/2026-10-12/wyoming-may-request-permission-to-kill-wild-horses-looks-to-other-western-states
As usual, our wild horses and burros are being blamed for damage to the rangeland when the Bureau of Land management’s own land-health data found that livestock grazing was solely responsible for almost all rangeland destruction. Even so, our wild horses and burros continue to face the threat of being removed and, now, being killed.
Here’s How You Can Help
Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121
Ask to speak with your U.S. Senators and Representative. Urge them to:
-Reject any effort amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 to authorize the killing or slaughter of wild horses and burros.
-Support and pass the SAFE Act (H.R. 1661 / S. 775).
-Preserve horse-protection language in the transportation bill and advance the Van Drew–Titus amendment.
Follow your call with a written message, which you can do in moments through www.losthorses.org/take-action
Please Share Widely.
Thank you to our friends at The Wild Beauty Foundation for putting this write-up and these actions together.
