In a statement released Tuesday, Friends of Animals said ASPCA/HSUS’s proposal for the management of America’s wild horses is the opposite of what needs to be done.

“The ASPCA and HSUS have thrown in the towel when it comes to protecting America’s wild horses by capitulating to the Bureau of Land Management and its wild horse extinction plan. It’s the exact opposite of what a compassionate, thoughtful animal advocacy group should do, and wild horses deserve better than to be sold out this way,” said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals, an international animal advocacy group that has been litigating for wild horses for the past several years.

“It’s telling they say there needs to be targeted roundups in ‘densely populated Herd Management Areas.’ The only thing HMAs are densely populated with are doomed cattle and sheep. Wild horses have lost more than 20 million acres of habitat since the passage of the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971.

“HSUS holds the registration for the fertility pesticide PZP so it’s no surprise they’ve become a mouthpiece for the BLM and are advocating for robust fertility control and ignoring recent studies that show PZP has unreasonable adverse side effects on wild horses. Anyone supporting those physical assaults is morally bankrupt and undermines the integrity and importance of wild horses.”

Unlike the coalition, Friends of Animals has some rational options that truly protect wild horses for Congress to consider:

● Limit or restrict entirely cattle and sheep from grazing in wild horse Herd Management Areas (HMAs).
● Limit oil, gas and mining operations in HMAs
● Amend the Wild Horse and Burro Act to allow wild horses to be returned or relocated to Herd Areas in states where wild horses have been wiped out
● Protect natural predators such as mountain lions
● Adjust outdated appropriate management levels to accommodate more horses