Wild Horse Population Becoming A Problem
When you think of the American West, one of the first images that likely comes to mind is that of a horse, and more specifically, wild horses. The animals roam freely throughout the wild, leaving visitors and locals in awe of their beauty.
But as beautiful as the horses may be, there are simply too many of them running around. As of March 2018, the Bureau of Land Management estimated that the wild horse and burro (donkey) population in the U.S. is 81,951.
Keep in mind that study was conducted over a year ago, so the population has surely increased by now.
You Can Get Paid To Take In A Horse
In an effort to fight against the overpopulation of wild horses and burros in the country, a new federal program has been established that gets the citizens involved. If you’ve ever dreamed of having a wild horse of your own, you’ll definitely want to pay attention to this.
The Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro program recently announced a new, incentivized program for those who may be interested in adopting a wild horse or burro. The program, called the Adoption Incentive Program, will actually pay you to take in a wild horse or burro…and they’ll pay you $1,000!
More than 4,600 wild horses and burros found good homes last year! To help find even more homes this year, we’re now offering up to $1,000 to adopt your own untrained wild horse or burro. Learn more: https://t.co/qoEY2xyl0i pic.twitter.com/ozWOfsjWbp
— BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program (@BLMWHB) March 12, 2019
As explained in the graphic above, you’ll receive your first payment of $500 within 60 days of adopting your new wild horse or burro. The second payment of $500 will follow within 60 days of the date on the title for your new four-legged family member.
But as easy as it sounds to just adopt a horse and collect your cash, it isn’t that simple. You can only adopt untrained animals, so you’ll have to spend many hours working with your horse or burro in order to train in properly.
What’s The Program’s Purpose?
In 2018, over 4,600 horses and burros were adopted out through a similar program. The aim of this new program is to incentivize people to take in even more wild horses and burros in a continued effort to combat the overpopulation problem in the wild.
The Bureau of Land Management website explains the program as such:
The goal of the program is to “reduce BLM’s recurring costs to care for unadopted and untrained wild horses and burros while helping to enable the BLM to confront a growing over-population of wild horses and burros on fragile public rangelands.”
The only catch is that you have to pay a $25 adoption fee for the animal of your choosing. Sounds like a pretty good deal if you ask us!
What do y’all think? Would you be interested in participating in this program so you can have a wild horse you can call your own?
Maybe if you train it well enough it could go on to star in a country singer’s music video, such as the one Reba McEntire filmed for her appropriately titled song, “Just Like Them Horses.” Enjoy the beauty of the animals featured in that video below.