Protect the Congressional Rider Banning Wild Horse and Burro Slaughter

Reject President Trump's FY27 budget proposal and keep the appropriations rider that prohibits the slaughter of wild horses and burros. This rider has been affirmed by both chambers year after year — strip it out and the federal government gets a green light to kill tens of thousands of these animals or sell them to kill buyers. Congress blocked this exact move last year. Do it again. Wild horses and burros have been scapegoated for decades by special interests in Western states, but the politics are shifting. Ranchers, public lands advocates, and animal welfare groups are increasingly aligned around nonlethal management tools like immunocontraception. There is no constituency demanding slaughter except a fringe that is wildly out of step with the American public. These animals are federally protected symbols of the American West, roaming 26.9 million acres across 10 states. They deserve to stay there. Hold the line on this protection now.