I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1018 

To amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to improve the 

management and long-term health of wild free-roaming horses and burros, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2009 

Mr. RAHALL (for himself and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act 

to improve the management and long-term health of 

wild free-roaming horses and burros, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. REFERENCE. 

4 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

5 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

6 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi7 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

8 section or other provision of the Act of December 15, 1971 


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1 (commonly known as the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and 

2 Burros Act; 16 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 

3 SEC. 2. POLICY. 

4 The first section is amended by striking ‘‘in the area 

5 where presently found, as’’. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 1332) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (c), by striking ‘‘which does 

9 not exceed their known territorial limits,’’ 

10 (2) in paragraph (d), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

11 the semicolon; 

12 (3) in paragraph (e), by striking the period and 

13 inserting a semicolon; 

14 (4) by amending paragraph (f) to read as fol15 lows: 

16 ‘‘(f) ‘‘excess animals’’ means wild free-roaming 

17 horses or burros which must be removed from an 

18 area, in accordance with section 3(d), in order to 

19 preserve and maintain a thriving natural ecological 

20 balance and multiple use relationship in that area.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. INVENTORY AND DETERMINATIONS. 

22 Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1333) is amended to read as 

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘SEC. 3. (a) All wild free-roaming horses and burros 

25 are hereby declared to be under the jurisdiction of the SecVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:24 Feb 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1018.IH H1018

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1 retary for the purpose of management and protection in 

2 accordance with the provisions of this Act. The Secretary 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) protect and manage wild free-roaming 

5 horses and burros as components of the public lands; 

6 ‘‘(2) designate and maintain specific ranges on 

7 public lands as sanctuaries for the protection and 

8 preservation of wild free-roaming horses and burros, 

9 where the Secretary, after consultation with the 

10 wildlife agency of the State where any such range is 

11 proposed and with the Advisory Board established in 

12 section 7, considers such action desirable. 

13 ‘‘(3) manage wild free-roaming horses and bur14 ros in a manner that is designed to achieve and 

15 maintain a thriving natural ecological balance on the 

16 public lands; 

17 ‘‘(4) consider the recommendations of qualified 

18 scientists in the field of biology and ecology, some of 

19 whom shall be independent of both Federal and 

20 State agencies and may include members of the Ad21 visory Board established in section 7; 

22 ‘‘(5) ensure that management activities related 

23 to wild free-roaming horses and burros are at the 

24 minimal feasible level and carried out in consultation 

25 with the relevant State wildlife agency in order to 


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1 protect the natural ecological balance of all wildlife 

2 species, particularly endangered wildlife species; and 

3 ‘‘(6) ensure that any adjustments in forage allo4 cations are made after taking into consideration the 

5 needs of other wildlife species. 

6 ‘‘(b) In order to determine if an overpopulation of 

7 wild free-roaming horses and burros exists, the Secretary 

8 shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) maintain an inventory of wild free-roaming 

10 horses and burros on the public lands; 

11 ‘‘(2) update the inventory annually; and 

12 ‘‘(3) make the inventory by herd management 

13 area available to the public on the Website of the 

14 Bureau of Land Management at no cost. 

15 ‘‘(c) In order to better manage wild free-roaming 

16 horses and burros, the Secretary, not later than one year 

17 after the date of the enactment of this section, shall take 

18 the following actions: 

19 ‘‘(1) Adopt and employ the best scientific, peer20 reviewed methods to accurately estimate wild free21 roaming horse and burro populations on public 

22 lands. 

23 ‘‘(2) Employ scientifically sound methods to de24 velop a policy for setting consistent, appropriate 

25 management levels. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Provide a public process, including a pe2 riod for notice and comment, for finalizing appro3 priate management level standards. 

4 ‘‘(4) Publish and distribute these standards to 

5 each field office so that the methodology for esti6 mating population and determining appropriate 

7 management levels is consistent across public lands. 

8 ‘‘(5) Train Bureau of Land Management per9 sonnel on the use of these standard techniques to es10 timate population and determine appropriate man11 agement levels. 

12 ‘‘(6) Consult with— 

13 ‘‘(A) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

14 Service; 

15 ‘‘(B) wildlife agencies of the State or 

16 States where wild free-roaming horses and bur17 ros are located; 

18 ‘‘(C) individuals independent of Federal 

19 and State governments who have been rec20 ommended by the National Academy of 

21 Sciences; and 

22 ‘‘(D) individuals who the Secretary deter23 mines to have scientific expertise and special 

24 knowledge of wild horse and burro protection, 


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1 wildlife management, and animal husbandry re2 lated to rangeland management. 

3 ‘‘(7) Identify new, appropriate rangelands for 

4 wild free-roaming horses and burros, including use 

5 of land acquisitions, exchanges, conservation ease6 ments, and voluntary grazing buyouts, and negotiate 

7 with private landowners to allow for the federally su8 pervised protection of wild horses and burros on pri9 vate lands. 

10 ‘‘(8) Establish sanctuaries or exclusive use 

11 areas; and 

12 ‘‘(9) Research, develop, and implement en13 hanced surgical or immunocontraception sterilization 

14 or other safe methods of fertility control. 

15 ‘‘(d) If the Secretary has exhausted all practicable op16 tions of maintaining populations of wild free-roaming 

17 horses and burros on the range, the Secretary may provide 

18 that excess wild free-roaming horses and burros are hu19 manely captured and removed for private maintenance and 

20 care, so long as the Secretary has determined an adoption 

21 demand exists by qualified individuals and the Secretary 

22 can ensure humane treatment and care by requiring 

23 that— 

24 ‘‘(1) no more than four wild free-roaming 

25 horses and burros may be adopted per year by any 


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1 individual, unless the Secretary determines, in writ2 ing, that the individual is capable of humanely car3 ing for more than four wild free-roaming horses and 

4 burros, including the transportation of such animals 

5 by the adopting party; 

6 ‘‘(2) each individual adopter shall execute an 

7 appropriate attestation, pursuant to section 1001 of 

8 title 18, United States Code, affirming that adopted 

9 animals shall not be used for purposes of slaughter 

10 for human consumption; 

11 ‘‘(3) methods for removing wild horses and bur12 ros shall not include the use of helicopters or any 

13 other airborne devices; and 

14 ‘‘(4) wild horses and burros shall not be con15 tained in corrals or other holding facilities for more 

16 than 6 months, while awaiting disposition. 

17 ‘‘(e) When an excess wild free-roaming horse or burro 

18 has been transferred to a qualified individual for adoption 

19 and private maintenance pursuant to this Act and the Sec20 retary determines that such individual has provided hu21 mane conditions, treatment, and care for such animal for 

22 one year, the Secretary may, upon application by the 

23 transferee, grant the transferee title to that animal. 

24 ‘‘(f) Not later than one year after the date of the 

25 enactment of this subsection, for the purposes of carrying 


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1 out a successful wild free-roaming horse and burro adop2 tion program the Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) implement creative and more aggressive 

4 marketing strategies for the adoption program, in5 cluding the use of the Internet or other media to 

6 showcase horses and burros and the adoption pro7 gram; 

8 ‘‘(2) explore public outreach opportunities, in9 cluding agreements with local and State organiza10 tions that are using horses and burros for rehabilita11 tion, therapy, or prisoner programs; 

12 ‘‘(3) provide resources to properly screen and 

13 train potential adopters; 

14 ‘‘(4) conduct tours of Bureau of Land Manage15 ment facilities for interested parties; and 

16 ‘‘(5) develop volunteer mentor and compliance 

17 check programs for assisting the agency in facili18 tating successful adoptions. 

19 ‘‘(g) The Secretary may not destroy or authorize the 

20 destruction of wild free-roaming horses or burros unless 

21 the Secretary— 

22 ‘‘(1) determines that the wild free-roaming 

23 horse or burro is terminally ill; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) ensures that the terminally ill wild free2 roaming horse or burro will be destroyed in the most 

3 humane manner. 

4 ‘‘(h) If the immediate health or safety of wild free5 roaming horses or burros is threatened, such as in severe 

6 drought conditions, the Secretary shall temporarily remove 

7 animals from the range. 

8 ‘‘(i) Except in cases of removal under subsection (g) 

9 or subsection (h), if the Secretary removes wild free-roam10 ing horses or burros from the range or decreases the range 

11 of the wild horses and burros, the Secretary shall provide 

12 a public notice on the Website of the Bureau of Land 

13 Management 30 days prior to the planned removal. 

14 ‘‘(j) The Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) track the number of wild free-roaming 

16 horses and burros injured during gathering or hold17 ing in a centralized database system; 

18 ‘‘(2) determine what information on the treat19 ment of gathered wild free-roaming horses and bur20 ros in holding and adopted wild free-roaming horse 

21 and burros could be provided to the public to help 

22 inform the public about the treatment of wild free23 roaming horse and burros; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) ensure that such information is easily ac2 cessible on the Website of the Bureau of Land Man3 agement.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. PRIVATE MAINTENANCE. 

5 Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1334) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘animals removed’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘animals returned to public lands’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘In no event shall such wild 

9 free-roaming horses and burros be destroyed except 

10 by the agents of the Secretary.’’. 

11 SEC. 6. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. 

12 Section 6 (16 U.S.C. 1336) is amended by inserting 

13 ‘‘and other private entities’’ after ‘‘landowners’’. 

14 SEC. 7. JOINT ADVISORY BOARD. 

15 Section 7 (16 U.S.C. 1337) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘nine members’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘12 members’’; 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘Governments’’ and all that fol19 lows ‘‘management.’’ and inserting ‘‘Governments 

20 and shall include at a minimum three representa21 tives of the livestock industry; three representatives 

22 of the environmental community; three representa23 tives of the humane community; and three scientists 

24 with doctorate degrees who have expertise in wildlife 

25 management.’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following new sen2 tence: ‘‘Selection of members of the board shall be 

3 conducted by notice and comment rulemaking in ac4 cordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 

5 U.S.C. et seq.) shall be for a term of four years. No 

6 individual shall serve more then two consecutive 

7 terms.’’. 

8 SEC. 8. CRIMINAL PROVISIONS. 

9 Section 8(a)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1338(a)(4)) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘3(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘3(d)’’; 

11 (2) by inserting ‘‘, transports for processing,’’ 

12 after ‘‘processes’’; and 

13 (3) by striking ‘‘the remains of’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘a live or deceased’’. 

15 SEC. 9. TRANSPORTATION OF CAPTURED ANIMALS. 

16 Section 9 (16 U.S.C. 1338a) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘helicopters or, for the purpose 

18 of transporting captured animals, motor vehicles.’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘motor vehicles for the purpose of 

20 transporting captured animals.’’; and 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘The provisions of section 47(a) 

22 of title 18 shall not be applicable to such use.’’. 

23 SEC. 10. LIMITATION OF AUTHORITY. 

24 Strike section 10 (16 U.S.C. 1339) and redesignate 

25 section 11 as section 10. 


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1 SEC. 11. REPORTS. 

2 Amend section 10 (as so redesignated by section 10 

3 of this Act) as follows: 

4 (1) Insert ‘‘(a)(1)’’ before ‘‘After the expira5 tion’’. 

6 (2) Insert ‘‘(2)’’ before ‘‘The Secretary of the 

7 Interior’’. 

8 (3) Add at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(b)(1) Not later than one year after the date of the 

10 enactment of this subsection and annually thereafter, the 

11 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Re12 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com13 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

14 a report that contains the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) The number of acres managed by the Bu16 reau of Land Management for wild free-roaming 

17 horses and burros. 

18 ‘‘(B) The appropriate management levels on 

19 public rangelands. 

20 ‘‘(C) A description of the methods used to de21 termine the appropriate management levels and 

22 whether it was applied consistently across the agen23 cy; 

24 ‘‘(D) the number of wild free-roaming horses 

25 and burros on public lands; 


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1 ‘‘(E) a description of the methods used to de2 termine the wild free-roaming horse and burro popu3 lation; 

4 ‘‘(F) any land acquisitions, exchanges, con5 servation easements, and voluntary grazing buyouts 

6 that the Bureau of Land Management has acquired 

7 or pursued for wild free-roaming horses and burros; 

8 ‘‘(G) any sanctuaries or exclusive use areas es9 tablished for wild free-roaming horses and burros; 

10 ‘‘(H) programs established for enhanced sur11 gical or immunocontraception sterilization research 

12 and development; 

13 ‘‘(I) the extent to which fertility control is being 

14 used by the Bureau of Land Management to control 

15 the population of wild free-roaming horses and bur16 ros; 

17 ‘‘(J) the percentage of the Bureau of Land 

18 Management budget devoted to contraception annu19 ally; 

20 ‘‘(K) the ratio of horses the agency has 

21 contracepted and put back on the range; and 

22 ‘‘(L) which herds contraception has been ad23 ministered and with what results. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Each report submitted under paragraph (1) 

2 shall be made available to the public on the Website of 

3 the Bureau of Land Management.’’. 

Æ 


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