🐎Major Win for Wild Horses: Court Blocks BLM Incentive Progra

March 5, 2025
Good News!

 A federal judge in Colorado has ruled that the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) for wild horses and burros violates federal law. The court found that the program lacked necessary public comment and environmental reviews and that the $1,000 incentive per animal created a dangerous loophole, leading to abuses—including the very real risk of animals being sold to slaughterhouses. This decision effectively halts the program until the BLM conducts proper assessments and establishes stronger safeguards. 

This is a victory for the off-range protection of America's wild horses & burros!  

🎉Congratulations 🎉 to our friends at American Wild Horse Conservation, Skydog Sanctuary, and Carol Walker!

 This victory comes as a result of a lawsuit filed by Eubanks & Associates, PLLC on behalf of these organizations and other petitioners. They argued that the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program created a perverse financial incentive that led to the unnecessary suffering and slaughter of federally protected wild horses and burros.

 This ruling marks a critical step forward in ensuring stronger off-range protections for America’s wild horses and burros.

The fight continues, but today, let's celebrate this historic victory!

~The Cloud Team

9 News Denver CO
Mar 4, 2025
Colorado judge strikes down BLM's wild horse adoption program, saying it violated federal law.
9 News meets with our friend, Carol Walker, after a Colorado district court judge overturned the controversial adoption incentive program of wild horses and burros, finding it violates multiple laws.

Introduced in 2019, the AIP was intended to reduce wild horse and burro populations on federal lands by offering financial incentives for adoption. However, investigations revealed widespread abuse, with some adopters exploiting the program by quickly selling the animals at auctions—sometimes resulting in their slaughter. The court’s ruling underscores the need for more humane methods of managing wild horse populations. #wildandfree

Read the court’s ruling here: blm-cannot-sell-wild-horses-and-burros.pdf