30,000 Wild Horses and Burros Rescued from Euthanasia

A recent article was just published at washingtonpost.com regarding a dramatic rescue for a federally maintained herd of wild horses and burros that no one wanted to adopt.

These 30,000 horses/burros are in holding facilities awaiting adoption and those that are 10yrs old or older or those who have not been adopted after three tries can be sold without restriction under 2004 legislation. Some of these horses are currently being held at a holding facility at Palomino Valley. Palomino Valley Wild Horse & Burro Center is the Bureau of Land Management's largest facility for wild horses and burros gathered from public lands. Palomino Valley can hold over 2000 horses at peak times. The BLM (Bureau of Land Management) were discussing euthanasia as a legal alternative but were afraid of the public outcry.

One single individual stood up and requested that all 30,000 of these animals be adopted by her. Madeleine Pickens is currently looking for land in the West that would be an appropriate home for the horses. She is the wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens and they have both been lifelong animal lovers. Just a few years ago the Pickens's led the fight to close the last horse slaughterhouse in the United States.

There is a backup plan to the Pickens offer. Two other animal rescue organizations have also expressed interest in adoption.   Henri Bisson, the BLM's deputy director, is hopeful that euthanasia won't be necessary this year. The BLM is trying to persuade Congress to shift $20 million in funding to help these horses for another year.

Click here to read the full article written by Lyndsey Layton.