Cortez – About 40 wild horses gathered this week from the Spring Creek Basin will be offered for adoption Saturday.
The horses include studs, mares and yearlings. Most are 5 years old or younger.
Once an owner has had a wild horse for 12 months, the federal government will transfer title after receiving documentation that a veterinarian or Bureau of Land Management official has determined that the horse is in good condition.
The rule requiring adopters to keep the horses for a year generally prevented the sale of the horse for slaughter, wild-horse advocacy groups say.
Congress had banned the slaughter of wild horses in the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act. But in December, Congress passed a measure by Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., that aimed to reduce the surplus of wild horses on overgrazed land by allowing the BLM to “sell without limitation” any horses more than 10 years old or not adopted after three consecutive offerings.
As of Aug. 9, the BLM had sold 1,494 wild horses and 25 burros, BLM spokesman Tom Gorey said. After learning that more than 40 horses had then been sold for slaughter, the BLM tried to prevent further killings by adding language to bills of sale “to advance the bureau’s efforts to find good homes for the animals.”
The BLM also asked the only three U.S. slaughterhouses that process horsemeat, largely destined for French, Belgian and Mexican markets, to notify the agency of any horses coming in with BLM freeze brands.
Ford, maker of the Mustang car, bought back dozens of wild horses others had sold for slaughter in the spring. They were placed in sanctuaries.
The horses offered Saturday will go to the highest bidder after a silent auction at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds.
Registration and viewing for adoption will be from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday. Bidding will take place from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
For more information, call Bob Ball at 970-882-6847.
