MYTH: A horse may be sold for slaughter if the adopter obtains an official title.

False. Although the BLM maintains that a horse may be sold for slaughter if the horse is first adopted and the adopter obtains an official title, this was not the intent of Congress when it passed the wild horse protection law. The law says that, after one year, an adopted wild horse or burro loses legal protections provided the animal is not sold or transferred for compensation or commercial purposes.

In the late 1980s, API and The Fund for Animals challenged the BLM's fee-waived, mass adoption program on the grounds that the BLM knew in advance that the adopters intended to sell or commercially exploit the horses, and thus were not qualified adopters. The Court found in API's favor and instructed the BLM not to transfer title when the adopter planned to use the animal for commercial purposes. This decision was upheld on appeal. Nonetheless, investigations reveal that BLM agents have, in fact, placed horses with people with the knowledge that the horses would be sold for slaughter.

In 1997, API and The Fund for Animals returned to court to request that the 1987 injunction be enforced and strengthened to protect wild horses from going to slaughter. As a result of the lawsuit, the BLM agreed to reform its requirements for adopting wild horses to prevent these rampant abuses. In the settlement, the BLM agreed to reword its Private Maintenance and Care Agreement so that anyone who adopts a wild horse or burro for slaughter or commercial purposes may be prosecuted. The agency also promised it would prohibit using the powers of attorney in the adoption process, and that U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors will notify BLM when horses with the BLM freeze-brand arrive at a slaughterhouse.

API is prepared to take whatever actions are necessary to see that the practice of selling wild horses for slaughter ends and that the original intent and language of the law is followed.

"[Wild free-roaming horses and burros] belong to no one individual. They belong to all the American people. The spirit which has kept them alive and free against almost insurmountable odds typifies the national spirit which led to the growth of our Nation. They are living symbols of the rugged independence and tireless energy of our pioneer heritage."

(U.S. Senate Report No. 242, 92nd Congress, 1971)