A federal judge ruled that the Bureau of Land Management’s protection measures for wild horses and burros adopted into private care were insufficient and violated federal law. This ruling temporarily halts BLM’s adoption incentive program, which offers a $1,000 payment to take in animals removed from federal rangelands. The lawsuit challenging the program was filed by American Wild Horse Conservation, Skydog Sanctuary, and private petitioners.

The BLM has denied allegations that adopted wild horses have been sold to slaughterhouses, but the court decision found the agency’s program to be unlawful and not in line with protecting the animals. The ruling requires BLM to conduct a new analysis on protection measures for adopted wild horses and burros. The court decision also found that the 2022 instruction memo failed to adhere to environmental requirements and may require BLM to conduct an environmental impact statement.

The BLM’s adoption incentive program has been successful in reducing the number of excess wild horses and burros on federal rangelands, but concerns have been raised about adopters selling the animals for profit. The court’s decision sends the program back to BLM for further review and potentially an environmental impact statement to address the issues raised in the ruling.