Wild Horses in Government Care Need Relief From Heat

Approximately 1,800 wild horses are in a potentially dangerous situation at a facility operated by the Bureau of Land Management near Reno, Nev., where temperatures have been reaching record highs exceeding 100 degrees this month. There is no shelter for the horses at the Palomino Valley National Adoption Center, despite the fact that BLM requires those adopting wild horses from the agency to provide adequate shelter for the animals.

In a letter to Neil Kornze, principal deputy director of the BLM, The Humane Society of the United States urged the agency to immediately install shelter for the horses at the Palomino Valley National Adoption Center, and ultimately at all of its short-term holding facilities.

Holly Hazard, senior vice president of programs and innovations for The HSUS, said: “Wild horses on the range survive severe temperatures by seeking out shade, but the horses in the BLM’s care have no choice but to swelter in the sun. The BLM’s response to the situation—installing a sprinkler system and nothing else—falls short of its responsibility to the horses in its care, and the agency’s defense that the horses can cope in hot temperatures is unacceptable.”