More than 90,000 wild horses and burros roam public lands in the Western United States, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM monitors their numbers and removes animals when populations exceed set limits, typically placing them in holding pens or pastures until they are adopted, sold, or pass away. While most animals are adopted or sold domestically, some are sold to Canadian slaughterhouses through legal loopholes. These sales have been happening for decades, and the pace has increased notably since President Donald Trump’s second term. Buyers in Canada pay as little as $25 for each horse, which they then sell for up to $750, raising concerns about the ethics and oversight of such transactions. Wild horses, known as mustangs, are often seen as a national symbol and are not traditionally considered food animals in the United States. However, the beef industry has pushed for more aggressive management of wild horse populations, arguing that they compete with cattle for grazing land and forage. The Western U.S. is a major cattle ranching region, with around 250 million acres of land managed by the BLM and the National Forest Service available for cattle grazing. Ranchers pay a low monthly fee of $1.69 per grazing animal, a rate that some critics say subsidizes the cattle industry. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council have supported legalizing horse slaughter in the U.S. and increasing funding for the BLM and Forest Service to allow more aggressive removal of wild horses and burros. Since the mid-1990s, the BLM has captured roughly 8,800 wild horses and burros each year using methods such as baiting and helicopter roundups. Some animals die during these operations, and those not adopted or sold are held in pens at a cost of $100 million annually. The number of wild horses sold has risen sharply, from 65 in 2013 to over 3,700 in 2023. However, it remains unclear how many of these end up in slaughter plants. Some are used for trail riding, ranch work, or competitions. A BLM spokesperson denied that the agency sends wild horses to slaughter, stating there are no legal loopholes enabling such sales. Wild horse advocates argue that BLM’s management strategies often favor cattle ranchers and that there are conflicts of interest within the agency. A top Trump appointee in the Department of the Interior, who owns cattle-grazing land, has discussed easing grazing limits and habitat protections. The cattle industry also seeks to limit bison grazing near Yellowstone and support the removal of gray wolf protections. Efforts to reduce the number of wild horses rounded up have included increasing the use of birth control. Patricia Miller of the American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) suggests that fertility control could be a more humane alternative to roundups. A proposed compromise plan in 2019, known as the “Path Forward,” aimed to increase BLM funding for both roundups and birth control. Congress has since increased the BLM’s budget, and the agency has ramped up fertility control efforts, spending around $5 million in 2024. A BLM spokesperson confirmed that fertility control is used where possible, reflecting a shift in strategy to manage wild horse populations more sustainably.