Under Trump, Protected Wild Horses Are Going to Slaughter
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
The Trump administration sold 3,700 protected wild horses in 2025, more than double the prior year.
The loophole lets the government sell mustangs cheaply, stripping protections and risking slaughter.
Background
About 73,000 wild horses roam federal public lands in the American West. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rounds them up to control populations and sells them under a program intended to find homes. A New York Times investigation found that a legal loophole allows the government to sell mustangs cheaply to unvetted buyers, who may then send them to slaughter, despite federal safeguards.
How it unfolded
- Mar 2026The government sold a group of mustangs to a trader, who disappeared with them; advocates suspect slaughter.
- Aug 20, 2026The New York Times published an investigation revealing the loophole and the sale of 3,700 wild horses in 2025.
- Aug 20, 2026Skydog Sanctuary demanded an immediate shutdown of the federal wild horse sales program.
- Aug 21, 2026The BLM responded that it does not sell or send wild horses to slaughter and reviews allegations.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- The BLM says it does not sell or send wild horses to slaughter and takes allegations seriously.
- Advocates
- Skydog Sanctuary says the program is sending federally protected horses into the slaughter pipeline.
- Local rancher
- A Wyoming rancher says BLM roundups are necessary for grazing and that slaughter was not intentional.
Still unverified
The claim that some sold horses were actually sent to slaughter is based on tracking by advocates and the NYT investigation, but the BLM denies it and no confirmed cases have been proven.