Co-Sponsor H.R. 4356 to End Brutal Helicopter Roundups of Wild Horses & Burros

Today I take pen in hand to write and urge you to Co-sponsor the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act (H.R. 4356) and help end the use of helicopters to round up wild horses and burros on public lands. These operations are neither humane nor fiscally responsible — the BLM has spent more than $25 million in taxpayer dollars on helicopter roundups since FY2017, and the program's overall budget ballooned from $75 million in FY2018 to nearly $148 million in FY2023 with no meaningful reduction in herd populations. The cruelty is well-documented. Horses — including pregnant mares and young foals — are chased for miles in temperatures ranging from 10 to 105 degrees, with no limit on how far they can be pursued. During a 2022 Nevada roundup, a colt chased by a helicopter broke his leg and was euthanized after half an hour of struggling to run. That same year, the BLM removed a record 20,000 horses from the wild, with animals dying of broken necks, broken limbs, and worse. The National Academy of Sciences has previously found that roundups can actually spur population growth through compensatory reproduction — making them counterproductive on top of everything else. Humane, cost-effective alternatives exist. Bait trapping and fertility control vaccines like PZP manage populations without the trauma or the runaway costs. H.R. 4356 would end helicopter roundups and require a GAO report on humane alternatives. This is a bipartisan bill with a clear case behind it. Please sign on as a co-sponsor. Thank you.