Wild horses and burros in the American West are managed through controversial roundup and long-term holding programmes with significant welfare implications.
Helicopter roundups cause acute welfare trauma: horses fleeing at full speed for miles, foals struggling to keep up, and injuries in capture corrals. Older animals and foals have higher mortality in the roundup period. Long-term holding in corrals — where horses may spend years or their entire lives — represents a profound deprivation for animals adapted to roam vast landscapes in family groups. Fertility control through PZP immunocontraception offers a management alternative that maintains herds in the wild while gradually reducing population growth. Welfare-prioritising management focuses on reducing the proportion of the population entering capture and maximising the proportion that remains wild.