Dear Member of Congress,

As a constituent deeply concerned about the integrity of the Wild Free‑Roaming Horses and Burros Act, I respectfully urge you to reintroduce and support the Rahall Amendment to close loopholes that continue to allow the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to funnel federally protected wild horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline.

In 2004, the Burns Amendment stripped key protections by authorizing the sale of older and “three‑strikes” horses and burros “without limitation,” effectively opening the door to bulk sales that place these animals at risk of commercial processing once title passes from the federal government. The Rahall Amendment, first adopted in the FY 2006 Interior Appropriations bill, responded to this by prohibiting the use of appropriated funds to facilitate the sale or slaughter of wild free‑roaming horses and burros, thereby limiting implementation of the Burns language through the power of the purse.

Despite these appropriations‑based protections, investigations and advocacy work have documented that BLM’s “sale authority” has functioned in practice as a pipeline to slaughter, including truckload sales of horses at rock‑bottom prices to middlemen and known kill buyers. While BLM now claims to restrict individual buyers to four animals in a six‑month period, the fine print allows discretionary exceptions, preserving the capacity for bulk or “group” sales that contradict the spirit of “no sale without limits.” Once sold, older and three‑strikes horses lose their federal status and can be legally resold into the slaughter system, undermining both Congressional intent and broad public opposition to the killing of America’s wild horses and burros.

For these reasons, I ask you to:

1. Reintroduce and champion the Rahall Amendment (or substantively equivalent language) to:

   • Prohibit the use of any federal funds to sell or transfer wild free‑roaming horses and burros for the purpose of slaughter or rendering into commercial products.

   • Close the Burns Amendment loophole by restoring full protection of the Act to older and “three‑strikes” animals, ending “without limitation” sales authority.

2. Pair this with clear direction to BLM in the appropriations bill to:

   • Ban bulk, truckload, or “group” sales that functionally replicate past scandals where large numbers of animals were sold at low cost to buyers linked to slaughter.

   • Require public reporting on all sales, including buyer identity, number of animals purchased, and any waivers or overrides of numeric limits, so Congress and the public can verify that protections are being enforced.

3. Support complementary reforms that:

   • Maintain and strengthen existing appropriations language that bars the killing of healthy horses and burros and the use of funds to facilitate their commercial slaughter.

Wild horses and burros were declared by Congress to be “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West,” and the law explicitly states they are to be protected from capture, branding, harassment, and death. Allowing the Burns Amendment’s loopholes to persist—while BLM continues to experiment with expanded sale and group‑sale initiatives—betrays this statutory promise and public trust. Reintroducing and passing the Rahall Amendment would be a decisive step to realign federal policy with the original intent of the Act and the clear will of the American people.

Thank you for your consideration and for your leadership in defending our nation’s wild horses and burros. I respectfully urge you to act swiftly to restore their protections and to ensure that no federal program, directly or indirectly, sends these animals by the truckload toward slaughter.

Sincerely,