Wild mustangs on western US public lands are managed by BLM through roundups and holding facilities that raise serious welfare concerns.
Wild horses in BLM roundup operations experience helicopter-driven panic that causes injuries and occasionally deaths. Mares with foals may become separated. New foals cannot maintain pace and are most vulnerable. Animals held in short-term facilities are often severely stressed. Long-term holding in feedlot-style conditions is profoundly inadequate for horses that roamed hundreds of miles free. Gelded stallions and separated family groups experience social disruption. Non-lethal management options are underfunded despite being both more humane and more effective long-term.