BLM to resume wild horse sales with more rules

Suzanne Struglinski

Thursday, May 19, 2005 | 9:39 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Bureau of Land Management will soon resume wild horse sales, adding stricter rules for horse buyers to prevent the animals from going to slaughter houses.

BLM Director Kathleen Clarke will announce the details of the plan today near the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota.

This comes just weeks after the bureau suspended them, when the bureau learned that horses sold under a new law had been slaughtered at a plant in Illinois.

Ford Motor Co. also announced today that it will help save 2,000 wild mustangs and is setting up a fund with BLM and Take Price America for the public to donate money to help save the horses.

In April, Ford, which makes the Mustang car, purchased 52 BLM horses slated for slaughter and sent them to the sanctuary.

BLM spokesman Tom Gorey said the bureau has reviewed its procedures for implementing the horse-sale law and it will make it clear to buyers that the sales are intended for the long-term care of the animals.

"They make sure they understand this is a serious commitment," Gorey said.

A law passed in 2004 directs the bureau to sell horses that are more than 10 years old and have been passed over three times for adoption.

Through new bill of sale agreements, buyers still agree to provide humane care to the horse or wild burro but also sign a statement saying that "anyone knowingly and willfully falsifying or concealing information is subject to criminal penalties under U.S. law." Gorey said the penalties can include fines or prison time.

The new agreements also say the buyer "will not knowingly sell or transfer ownership" of any of the BLM animals they buy to anyone that "intends to re-sell, trade or give away the animals for processing into commercial products."

BLM will also ask more detailed questions of potential buyers to make sure they know how to properly care for the animal and have enough space for it to live.

Gorey said the new rules "raise the level of accountability" for buyers and "makes very clear as to the seriousness to which we are taking this."

Gorey said the bureau is also working with the three U.S. horse processing plants to reach an agreement for them to not buy any BLM horses. Gorey said the horses have a unique brand on them so it is clear they were BLM horses.

If the agreement is reached, those who buy BLM horses would not be able to sell directly or indirectly to the processing plants.