Concerns over new BLM policies on wild horse sales

Animal advocates are growing concerned at news that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is overturning a President Obama-era policy concerning the sale of wild horses.

Advocates say it will increase the number of wild horses being sold, and potentially slaughtered.

The BLM has already issued a sales policy to ensure animals won't be sold into commercial products, such as meat, but some grassroots organizations are concerned that the Federal government is heading towards more lenient policies that could make it harder to track the fate of these wild horses that are sold off.

According to the American Wild Horse campaign, a previous rule restricted the number of horses that B:M could sell to a buyer, but they say a new rule allows buyers to buy more horses with less restrictions.

On the flip side, BLM officials have argued in the past they have to sell excess wild horses, because there are limited plants and water available.

Wild horse advocates say BLM should opt for birth control for these horses, rather than risk these horses being slaughtered after being sold off.

"I personally am outraged, along with many horse welfare organizations, and the American Wild Horse Campaign," said Simone Netherlands, in a phone interview. "We want the public to know about this."

Netherlands says our Salt River Wild Horses won't be impacted by the new rule, but she's still concerned about 1,000 horses in Arizona holding facilities and still in the wild under BLM's management. We reached out to the bureau of land management in regards to this issue, but couldn't make anyone available for us today.