Sanctuary Friends
#standwithamustang
One of our most important objectives is to raise awareness to the plight of mustangs and burros in America as wild herds are erased by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Subject to incessant, violent, and often lethal roundups, our wild herds of mustangs and burros are rapidly disappearing. The federal land management agencies that are mandated to protect them are instead serving the interests of for-profit industries with privileged access to public lands at taxpayer expense.
According to the law, Herd Management Areas (HMAs) are supposed to be managed primarily for wild equines, but they are overrun with commercial livestock that outnumber mustangs and burros by as much as 30 to 1, if not more. The severe ecological damage caused by overgrazing livestock is blamed on wild horses and burros to justify their removal.
Once captured in an overcrowded and unsustainably expensive holding system, the BLM funnels as many as possible into the slaughter pipeline - a federal offense - via Sale Authority. Large numbers of mustangs and burros can be purchased for as little as $25 with no protections. Owners can - and do - drive them straight to a kill pen to sell them for their meat price, then return to the BLM to buy more. If this is allowed to continue, wild horses and burros will disappear forever from their native land.
To bring attention to the urgency of protecting these national treasures, we reach out to celebrities, who love animals. We are fortunate to have many friends who want to use their fame to be a voice for the voiceless. They visit and volunteer at the ranches, or serve on our board, advocate for passing the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, and help us make movies to raise awareness like Blue Zeus and Pass the Safe Act. They care about mustangs and burros, the contributions they have made to human development, and the role they play in our culture - past, present, and future.
You can see many of these talented individuals on our unique Instagram thread #standwithamustang
