Dear Secretary Burgum,

We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, respectfully urge you to issue a directive to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to take and complete all internal steps outlined in the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP). These steps were formally described in BLM’s 2015 Instruction Memorandum (IM 2015-151) and detailed further by Dr. Albert J. Kane, DVM, in his March 19, 2018 correspondence as the framework for a complete and accountable welfare audit process.

CAWP was designed as a systematic, iterative welfare assurance process including policy establishment, staff education, internal and external audits, and transparent public reporting. Yet nearly a decade later, implementation remains incomplete and inconsistent. BLM’s partial progress has left major welfare gaps across key operational phases—from range management and gathers to holding, transport, and adoption compliance.

You have the clear administrative authority—through the stroke of a pen—to direct BLM to complete the full CAWP cycle as the agency itself committed to in 2015. This action requires no new legislation, Congressional action, or litigation. It simply restores the accountability and public transparency the Department promised. Importantly, it paves the way to truly take the steps necessary to stop preventable suffering and death of wild horses and burros. 

We further urge that renewed CAWP implementation fully incorporate public participation and communication at each stage, including the publication of both internal and external audit outcomes. The public has both the right and the interest in understanding whether federal programs meant to protect America’s wild horses and burros are truly meeting humane and science-based animal welfare standards.

Taking decisive action now would reaffirm the Department’s commitment to transparency, humane treatment, and responsible management of wild horses and burros on our public lands.

With respect,