Wild horses in Colorado – In Defense of Animals
The Colorado General Assembly has passed unprecedented and groundbreaking legislation known as The Colorado Wild Horse Project, a new law that adds state protections for the rights of mustangs and burros to reside in their homes, instead of being traumatically and expensively rounded up.
The move comes as a response to last year’s tragedy when 145 horses died during a flu outbreak in a holding facility that was later found to be in breach of 13 policies.
The bill’s sponsors included the Colorado House Majority Leader, Rep. Monica Duran (D), and the House Minority Leader, Rep. Mike Lynch (R), reflecting the vast bipartisan support in the General Assembly where SB23-275 was passed by an overwhelming majority of lawmakers—an indication of how important wild horses and public lands are to a broad swath of Americans.
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Nationally, the US Congress unanimously passed the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to protect America’s wild equids. But in 2004, many of the protections that the law provided were repealed when Senator Conrad Burns (R-Montana) attached a rider to the massive 3,000-page Omnibus Appropriations bill.
“We are thrilled state legislators have honored Colorado citizens’ overwhelming support for wild horses,” said Ginger Fedak, a Colorado resident and Senior Campaigner for In Defense of Animals. “With (its) passage, we can lead the way for other states and national legislation to rebalance the rights of mustangs and burros to live on our public lands.”
Wild horse advocates have been campaigning for more humane, practical, and affordable solutions to wild horse roundups and warehousing for years. Colorado will be the first state to put some of these into practice on a state level.
Wild horse foal – In Defense of Animals / GF
SB23-275 prioritizes retaining healthy wild horse herds in Colorado’s four Herd Management Areas (HMAs), thereby reducing costly and destructive removals. The legislation also aims to improve the poor quality of expensive holding facilities where wild animals were being confined in perpetuity.
The new law also provides more staffing and resources for fertility control measures in the state’s herds.
A working group of various stakeholders experienced in wild horse issues will seek to find new areas for hundreds of the captured mustangs to live in sanctuary-type settings or be suitably adopted by horse farms when they adaptable to domestic life.
Funding for this new program will get a start-up of state funding of $1.5 million, after which private funding and support will be utilized.
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After state legislators, including those with ranching interests, passed the bill last week by a margin of 58 to 7. Governor Polis, who is a strong proponent of improved wild equid management over roundups and removals, is likely to soon sign the bill into law.
“We hope Colorado can lead the way to a better, more humane approach to caring for these cherished wild horses,” says Ms. Fedak. “We stand with our allies, ready to help Colorado’s innovative new plan work and show by example how we can save our wild herds of mustangs and burros.”
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