Tens of thousands of wild horses and burros on public lands face welfare challenges including roundups, holding facilities, and population management controversies.
Wild horses and burros occupy a contested space between wildlife and domestic animal status. Helicopter roundups cause acute terror and physical injury, particularly to foals and older animals. Long-term holding in pens deprives animals of natural social structures, movement, and foraging behaviors. Fertility control administered in the field represents a welfare-superior alternative that preserves social bands and natural behavior.