Until very recently I believed wild mustangs to be truly wild. That is, until I heard about the wild mustang controversy.

The real controversy began in 1971 with the enactment of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The Act gives the Federal government control of wild horses and burros on U.S. public lands. This task was given to the Bureau of Land Management, commonly known as the BLM. The BLM is supposed to manage the number of wild horses in the U.S., ensuring that both horses and the land they live on prosper. The BLM believes that in their absence, the wild horse and burro populations will grow so rapidly that eventually the land will be unable to sustain them. The BLM manages these wild mustangs by doing what they call “roundups” or “gathers”, which occur several times a year. Roundups begin by herding horses to a temporary holding pin through motorized modes such as helicopters. The horses are chased by the helicopter into a corral where they can be euthanized, given fertility treatments, or put up for adoption. Those who are not adopted out are put in long term holding facilities where they live out the rest of their lives or are euthanized. This quality of life is poor, and it should not be allowed.

“That sounds awful,” said Junior Miranda Horton after being informed about the issue.

These methods are cruel and inhumane, for the roundup can result in serious injury or even death due to physical and emotional stress. It is also the idea of these advocates that the reason for the removal of wild mustangs is not to help the horses or the land they live on, but to create more property for greedy cattle ranchers in search of more wealth.

Another controversial topic between mustang activists and the BLM is the amount of horses left in the wild after roundups. The BLM keeps data of every round up on their website, and activists are not happy with the results. In nearly every case the mustang population is almost cut in half after roundups. The BLM claims this is due to the fact that wild horse herds can increase by 20 percent each year. However, this still leaves us wondering why herd sizes are being cut by almost 50 percent.

“Mustangs are going to be like dinosaurs soon, we’re only going to read about them in books, and I don’t want that for our horses,” stated Senior Cheyenne Carpenter.

Many organizations have been created in order to put an end to BLM and their inhumane treatment of mustangs. Associations such as PETA, Saving America’s Mustangs and Save the Mustangs foundation are stepping forth along with celebrities such as composer David Foster, actor Robert Wagner, and former MLB player Vince Colemen.

Just 100 years ago, 2 million mustangs were truly wild. Now because of the actions of the Bureau of Land Management only about 280,000 remain. Many people are stepping forth to try and put an end to the BLM’s control over mustangs, if allowed to continue these inhumane acts the extinction of mustang’s may be sooner than we expected.

“It’s our wild west, and we’re getting rid of it,” stated a passionate Carpenter.