Stop Hidden Foal Deaths In Wild Horse Holding Facilities

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Sponsor: The Animal Rescue Site

Federally protected foals may be dying behind government fences without honest public records, and that must end now.

Stop Hidden Foal Deaths In Wild Horse Holding Facilities

Wild horses and burros are protected under federal law, and the Bureau of Land Management has clear responsibility for their care and management1. Yet recent advocacy reporting alleges that foals born inside BLM holding facilities have died without full public accounting, even when disposal records suggest losses that are not clearly reflected in public-facing records2.

The Public Deserves A Complete Count

When pregnant mares are captured during roundups and later give birth in holding, every foal should be counted. The public should know how many pregnant mares entered these facilities, how many foals were born alive, how many were stillborn, and how many later died3. Without that information, there is no honest way to judge animal welfare, no way to verify losses, and no way to hold the agency accountable.

Transparency Is A Basic Duty

BLM materials make clear that off-range wild horses and burros remain protected, and the agency’s own handbook recognizes the special vulnerability of foals during the foaling period4. If newborn foals are fragile enough to warrant special seasonal protections during capture operations, they are certainly important enough to deserve full documentation once they are inside federal facilities.

Take Action Now

We call on the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior to implement basic transparency measures: public reporting of how many pregnant mares are captured during roundups, consistent documentation of foal births and stillborn foals, and mortality records that can be independently verified against rendering and disposal records3.

Sign the petition and call for a full accounting for every foal in federal custody.

More on this issue:

  1. Bureau of Land Management, BLM (January 2006), "Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, as amended."
  2. Animals’ Angels, Animals’ Angels (16 March 2026), "The BLM Hides Foal Deaths."
  3. WAN, World Animal News (24 March 2026), "Foals Dying In BLM Holding Facilities Without Public Accounting, Report Reveals."
  4. Bureau of Land Management, BLM (7 July 2010), "Wild Horses and Burros Management Handbook."

The Petition

Dear Director of the Bureau of Land Management and Secretary of the Interior,

I am writing to urge immediate action to address a serious transparency failure involving wild horse foals born inside Bureau of Land Management holding facilities.

Wild free-roaming horses and burros are protected under federal law. When the federal government captures pregnant mares and places them in holding, it accepts direct responsibility for the lives that follow. That responsibility does not end at the facility gate. It includes honest public accounting for every foal born in federal custody, every stillbirth, and every death.

Recent reporting and advocacy materials have raised disturbing concerns that foals have died in BLM holding facilities without clear, consistent public documentation. If disposal and rendering records exist for foals that do not appear in accessible public reporting, that gap demands immediate correction. The public should not have to guess how many newborn animals entered these facilities, how many survived, or how many were lost.

This is not an unreasonable request. It is a basic standard of public accountability and humane oversight.

I urge you to implement the following measures without delay:

  1. Publicly report how many pregnant mares are captured during each roundup and transferred into holding.
  2. Require consistent facility-level documentation of every foal birth, including live births and stillborn foals.
  3. Maintain mortality records for foals and mares that can be independently verified against rendering, disposal, and veterinary records.
  4. Publish these records in a timely, accessible format so the public, oversight bodies, and animal welfare advocates can review them.
  5. Establish a clear chain of responsibility for recordkeeping so no foal born in federal custody can disappear from the public record.

Humanity and compassion require more than broad assurances. They require facts. Foals born behind federal fences are vulnerable, dependent, and entirely under human control. When records are incomplete or inconsistent, the public cannot evaluate whether these animals received proper care or whether preventable suffering occurred.

The Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior have the authority to fix this problem now. Honest tracking of pregnant mares, births, stillbirths, and deaths would not hinder management. It would strengthen public trust and create a minimum safeguard for animals whose welfare is already compromised by capture and confinement.

Every foal matters. Every death matters. And every loss in federal custody must be documented with clarity and integrity.

Please act now to create a transparent, verifiable public record for foals born in BLM holding facilities. These actions will ensure a better future for all.

Sincerely,