http://www.returntofreedom.org/

Return To Freedom-Next Gen Coalition, Lompoc, CA (2026)

03/18/2026

The Bureau of Land Management estimates that there are 85,466 wild horses and b***os roaming the public lands that it oversees. That’s up 15.6% from a year ago.

It brings the agency’s annual population estimate back to within 723 animals of where it stood five years ago, despite removing more than 63,000 wild horses and b***os from the range since then.

The new figures underscore the futility of business as usual.

The BLM has for decades tried and failed to reach its own population target of 25,592 wild horses and b***os. The agency does so under a legal mandate to manage public lands for multiple uses, including the grazing of privately owned livestock that far outnumber horses and b***os.

The ceaseless cycle of removing wild horses and b***os from the range continues because the BLM has chosen not to address reproduction.

The agency has only treated and released about 5,500 wild mares with fertility control since 2021, despite Congress providing more funding and calling for its use.

➡️ We have long advocated for the use of fertility control as a proven, safe and humane tool that can replace capture removals as the BLM’s primary management method. Divergent public lands stakeholders now support fertility control use, too.

The result of the BLM putting off its use?

Nearly 63,000 captured wild horses and b***os are warehoused in off-range holding facilities. That costs taxpayers more than $101 million annually.

Meanwhile, removals continue: The BLM plans to remove about 5,200 wild horses and b***os from the range this year while treating just 828 with fertility control.

In one noteworthy development, the agency’s plans do call for baiting temporary trap sites with feed / water instead of using helicopters.

The U.S. Forest Service oversees about 8,000 wild horses and b***os. Sadly, it too has focused its funding on removals over fertility control.

✅ You can help: Send a message urging Congress to push the BLM’s to use fertility control by tapping Take Action in our bio or going to returntofreedom.org/current_actions/

03/12/2026

The Bureau of Land Management plans to begin capturing and removing 2,075 wild horses and 425 b***os from Nevada rangelands starting on Sunday.

The BLM is removing the animals from the range because their numbers exceed the agency’s own population targets, called “Appropriate Management Levels.”

Instead of using helicopters, the BLM plans to use a bait-and-trap method in which wild horses and b***os are lured with water or feed into temporary enclosures made of livestock panels.

Return to Freedom’s goal is to see wild horses and b***os stay on the range, where they belong, but we are more supportive of using the bait-and-trap over helicopters. Any trapping of wild animals carries safety risks.

Unfortunately, the BLM announced no plans to treat and release wild horses or b***os with proven, safe and humane fertility control.

If implemented correctly, fertility control could replace the BLM’s decades-old practice of ceaselessly removing wild horses and b***os from the range then putting them in off-range holding facilities at ever-greater expense.

The four bait-and-trap roundups set to start this weekend are the first being conducted to attempt to control herd numbers since last fall’s government shutdown. Some have been conducted for what the agency deemed emergencies, like drought conditions.

Wild horses and b***os are often outnumbered by privately owned livestock even on Herd Management Areas designated for them.

At one place affected by these roundups, the 1.6 million-acre Triple B Complex, for example, the BLM has set a population goal of 482-821 horses while permitting up to 7,269 cow-calf pairs to graze there annually.

✅ You can help: To send messages to your members of Congress urging them to hold the BLM’s feet to the fire on the implementation of fertility control that can end roundups, tap Take Action in our bio.

Caption: A wild horse in a temporary holding pen after capture. RTF file photo.

03/06/2026

By popular demand: Please join us at noon Pacific on Monday, March 9, on Zoom for a special webinar on the fight to end horse slaughter, from the introduction of the first federal bill to ban it to where it stands now — and what you can do to help.

The last domestic horse slaughter plant closed in 2007. Advocates like Return to Freedom have successfully worked every year since to keep new slaughterhouses from opening.

Tragically, however, some 21,000 American equines annually are bought on the cheap at auction by kill buyers who ship them to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses.

The bipartisan Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act would finally shut down that slaughter pipeline. It would also impose a lasting ban on horse slaughter in the United States.

This timely webinar covering frequently asked questions about the issue comes as the number of horses being shipped to slaughter has increased by more than 25%.

Return to Freedom has been active on this issue since our inception, pushing for a slaughter ban while playing a role in the rescue of more than 2,500 at-risk wild horses and b***os. Our sanctuary currently cares for nearly 500.

About the speaker: Lobbyist Chris Heyde is our Capitol Hill representative on horse slaughter as well as our ongoing advocacy for more humane and sustainable wild horse and b***o management on our public lands. He introduced the first federal bill to ban horse slaughter and has spearheaded the effort ever since.

How to register: See our bio or our homepage, returntofreedom.org. Registration for the webinar is on a “pay what you can” basis, with your fees providing hay for our sanctuary’s wild horses and b***os.

Take action: To send a message urging your members of Congress to support the SAFE Act — and call for a vote — tap Take Action in our bio or see returntofreedom.org/current_actions/

Photo: Rich Sladick

03/04/2026

☀️ Make plans to join us at our beautiful San Luis Obispo, Calif., sanctuary!

Spend time with nearly 100 wild horses and b***os roaming 2,000 acres of rolling, oak-studded hills with views of the ocean in the distance. It’s a bucket list-worthy experience for any horse lover!

We host only a handful of these special photo safaris to benefit the herd at this satellite sanctuary location each year.

We’ll follow the best light for your photos while also spending time quietly observing herd behavior. Photo safaris begin at 3:30 p.m. and last until sundown.

Upcoming dates: May 16, June 20, July 18, Aug. 8, Aug. 22. Private photo safaris are available by arrangement. Discounts are available for returning safari participants.

Other scheduled opportunities to visit this amazing place:

☀️ Photo Workshops and Editing Labs: April 1-3, May 31-June 5

☀️ Walk a Day With the Herd: Spend a full day with our wild horse and b***o herds on May 30!

👉 For more about these and other programs at our San Luis Obispo location and our Lompoc, Calif., flagship sanctuary, tap Visit in our bio or see returntofreedom.org/visit/

Proceeds from our programs go toward our nonprofit organization’s care of nearly 500 rescued wild horses and b***os.

Photos taken at our SLO sanctuary by Rich Sladick.

03/03/2026

Please join us at noon Pacific on Monday, March 9, on Zoom for a special webinar on the fight to end horse slaughter, from the introduction of the first federal bill to ban it to where it stands now — and what you can do to help.

The last domestic horse slaughter plant closed in 2007. Advocates like Return to Freedom have successfully worked every year since to keep new slaughterhouses from opening. Tragically, however, some 21,000 American equines annually are bought on the cheap at auction by kill buyers who ship them to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses.

The bipartisan Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act would finally shut down that slaughter pipeline. It would also impose a lasting ban on horse slaughter in the United States.

This timely webinar covering frequently asked questions about the issue comes as the number of horses being shipped to slaughter has increased by 25%.

Return to Freedom has been active on this issue since our inception, pushing for a slaughter ban while playing a role in the rescue of more than 2,500 at-risk wild horses and b***os. Our sanctuary currently cares for nearly 500.

🔹About the speaker: Lobbyist Chris Heyde is our Capitol Hill representative on horse slaughter as well as our ongoing advocacy for more humane and sustainable wild horse and b***o management on our public lands. He introduced the first federal bill to ban horse slaughter and has spearheaded the effort ever since.

🔹How to register: See our bio or our homepage, returntofreedom.org. Registration for the webinar is on a “pay what you can” basis, with your fees providing hay for our sanctuary’s wild horses and b***os.

🔹Take action: To send a message urging your members of Congress to support the SAFE Act, tap Take Action in our bio or see returntofreedom.org/current_actions/

Photo:

03/02/2026

The Bureau of Land Management captured 344 wild horses during a helicopter roundup last week in White Pine County, Nevada.

The roundup was deemed an “emergency” by the agency “due to severe drought conditions and lack of forage” on about 30,000 acres that are not managed for horses located outside the Antelope Herd Management Area and Moriah Herd Area.

During the roundup, a 1-year-old mare died after suffering a broken neck at the trap site. Five other wild horses were put down, three for low body condition scores, one for lameness and one for severe sway back, according to the BLM’s gather report.

Reported body conditions for the captured wild horses ranged from 2 (very thin) to 4 (moderately thin) on a 9-point scale.

The BLM has ceased all but emergency roundups since last fall’s government shutdown. Non-emergency roundups intended to reach the population targets and much of the BLM’s Wild Horse & B***o Program has been on hold.

The agency continues to care for and adopt out captured horses in off-range holding. Wild horses captured in last week’s roundup were sent to the Palomino Valley wild Horse and B***o center in Sparks, Nev., before being offered for adoption or sale.

A lack of roundups provides only a temporary reprieve for wild herds. Past lulls have been followed by the agency calling for increased removals once funding became available.

Each day that the BLM delays the use of fertility control shown to be proven, safe and humane perpetuates the agency’s failed management by capture and removal.

We strongly support the use of fertility control as a key tool to reduce the frequency and size of removals and replace them with minimally intrusive, on-range management.

You can help: Tap take action to send a message calling on Congress to press the BLM’s to implement fertility control that can replace capture and removal as the BLM’s primary method of managing wild horses or see returntofreedom.org/current_actions/

BLM 2020 file photo.

02/28/2026

Miss our webinar about the ejiao trade’s impact of global donkey populations? Watch it now for free (link in bio or at returntofreedom.org).

Exploding demand for ejiao, a gelatin made from donkey skins, is decimating donkey populations worldwide and harming impoverished people who rely on these important animals.

Millions of donkeys are slaughtered annually to make ejiao (uh-jee-ow), a gelatin used in traditional Chinese medicine, beauty, cosmetic and other products despite little scientific evidence of its purported benefits and alternative sources of gelatin, including plants. The United States imports about $12 million worth of ejiao products annually.

Led by Dr. Amy McLean of an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis , this presentation explores where donkey populations stand now, what forces are shaping their future, and why their well-being matters not only to vulnerable communities worldwide, but to all of us who care deeply about equids.

Take action:

The bipartisan Ejiao Act (H.R. 5544) would ban the sale or transport of ejiao or products made with ejiao. To send a message to your members of Congress in support of the bill, tap Take Action in our bio or see returntofreedom.org/current_actions/

Future webinars:

Interested in taking part in future webinars? Tap subscribe in our bio or see returntofreedom.org/subscribe/ to sign up for our free e-newsletter and action alerts.

Photo taken at our sanctuary by

***os

02/26/2026

More than 21,000 American horses die in foreign slaughterhouses, on average, each year.

With one word — “equines” — Congress can an end an ugly business profiting a handful of unscrupulous kill buyers. They prey on horses at auction, buying and trucking them to Mexico or Canada for slaughter.

The bipartisan Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act would add “equines” to a federal existing law banning the slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption.

One change — one word — can prevent thousands of inhumane deaths every year.

That change would also place a lasting ban on horse slaughter in the United States. Right now, only language inserted into annual funding bills stands in the way of slaughterhouses reopening.

A total of 226 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed on as SAFE Act cosponsors. That’s enough support to pass this important legislation, but it must be brought up for a vote.

How to help:

✅ Tap Take Action in our bio or go to returntofreedom.org/current_actions/ to send a message to your members of Congress urging them to back the SAFE Act and call for a vote.

✅ Call your members of Congress at (202) 224-3121. Urge them to support the SAFE Act (H.R. 1661 in the House, S. 775 in the Senate) and call for a vote.

✅ Please share this post.

Photo taken at our sanctuary by Paloma Ianes.

02/25/2026

Want to help wild horses? You can find youth short-sleeve and adult long-sleeve T-Shirts for sale in our online store!

🧡 Sales help us feed and care for nearly 500 rescued wild horses and b***os at our nonprofit sanctuary.

👉 You can reach our shop through our bio or by going to shop.returntofreedom.org.

Among the lovely items for sale there, you’ll find:

🔹Spirit posters and toys,

🔹books for horse-loving readers of all ages,

🔹greeting cards and calendars featuring beautiful images of sanctuary residents,

🔹tumblers and water bottles,

🔹insulated tote bags,

🔹license plate frames,

🔹and much more!

Photo:

02/24/2026

The effort to move government agencies toward more humane, sustainable management of wild horses and b***os is often portrayed as an intractable battle between wild horse advocates and ranchers.

Wildlife and conservation organizations have oftentimes felt at a loss as to how, or whether, to enter such a fray.

Our staff biologist, Celeste Carlisle, recently spoke to a large audience at the Wildlife Society Western Section () meeting about the chance for other stakeholders to help move the issue forward.

“If wild horse advocates, ranchers, and conservation organizations agree that a non-lethal approach can be achieved while taking into account concerns about climate change, wildlife, and the multiple uses our public lands are utilized for, instead of pitting some uses against other uses, then our ability to unify messaging about continuing a non-lethal management approach and increasing fertility control improves,” Celeste writes.

You can find her full blog in our bio or on our website’s homepage, returntofreedom.org.

Photo taken at our sanctuary by

02/20/2026

The federal Bureau of Land Management captured 7,853 wild horses and b***os and removed them from our public lands during the last fiscal year, according to newly released figures.

That increased the number of captured wild horses and b***os languishing in off-range government holding facilities to 62,734, as of December.

For decades, the BLM has tried and failed to meet herd population targets that it sets under federal law through removals while choosing not to address reproduction.

The agency captures wild horses and b***os, usually with helicopters, and then soon returns to the same places to remove more.

The BLM spends more than $100 million every year to warehouse captured horses and b***os. The costlier off-range holding becomes, the greater the threat to the lives of those animals.

➡️ There is a better way, one rooted in real science that is more humane and fiscally responsible.

Fertility control is a proven, safe tool that can stabilize herd growth. It can reduce the size and frequency of roundups on the way to replacing removals as the agency’s main management tool.

Yet the BLM has never spent as much as 4% of its budget on fertility control. Last year, it treated then released 921 mares — less than one for every eight it took off the range.

The BLM’s program has largely been put on hold since last fall. It can only remove horses and b***os from the range in what are deemed emergency situations.

On Friday, the BLM it would begin removing 300 wild horses near Ely, Nev., because of what it says are severe drought conditions. No horses will be treated with fertility control.

Each day that passes without fertility control being used robustly and properly means more wild horses and b***os will be targeted for removal when funding becomes available.

You can help:

✅ Tap Take Action in our bio or see returntofreedom.org/current_actions/ to send a message urging Congress to hold the BLM’s feet to the fire on fertility control use.

✅ Donate to our Wild Horse Defense Fund through our bio or at returntofredom.org/donate/

Photos: RTF file photo,

Return To Freedom-Next Gen Coalition

03/18/2026

03/12/2026

03/06/2026

03/04/2026

03/03/2026

03/02/2026

02/28/2026

02/26/2026

02/25/2026

02/24/2026

02/20/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category