# US Bureau of Land Management wild horse sales controversy

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/us-bureau-of-land-management-wild-horse-sales-controversy
> Updated: 2026-08-25T15:59:42.000Z. Sources: 6. Developments: 2.

Investigations have revealed that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has significantly increased the sale of federally protected wild horses. Under the current administration, sales of horses labeled as excess or ‘unadoptable’ have reportedly doubled to 3,700 in 2025.

While the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 protects these animals, a 2004 amendment—often referred to as the Burns Amendment—allows the agency to sell horses that fail to find homes through the adoption process. Once sold, these animals lose federal protection and are treated as private livestock. Although BLM policy officially prohibits selling animals for slaughter, critics argue a legal loophole allows middlemen to transport horses to Canada or Mexico, where slaughter is legal.

The practice has drawn scrutiny due to the high cost of management and the economic disparity in sales. The government spends up to $3,000 to capture and manage a single mustang, yet sells them for as little as $25. Animal rights advocates, such as the American Wild Horse Conservation, allege that healthy horses are being funneled into a slaughter pipeline to reduce the costs of maintaining a holding system that currently manages approximately 60,000 horses at an estimated annual cost of $100 million.

## Timeline

### 2026-08-25: Bureau of Land Management wild horse sales under scrutiny

The Bureau of Land Management is facing scrutiny over a loophole that allegedly allows protected wild horses to be sold to middlemen and sent to foreign slaughterhouses.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/bureau-of-land-management-wild-horse-sales-under-scrutiny

### 2026-08-20: Bureau of Land Management sells protected wild horses for as little as $25

A New York Times investigation found the Bureau of Land Management has sold thousands of protected wild mustangs for as little as $25, allowing them to be legally transported to slaughterhouses abroad.

5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/bureau-of-land-management-sells-protected-wild-horses-for-as-little-as-25

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Cite as: US Bureau of Land Management wild horse sales controversy. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/us-bureau-of-land-management-wild-horse-sales-controversy