In March of 2020, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) estimated that there were about 95,000 wild horses and burros living on federal land, with an additional 50,000 being kept in holding facilities – more than triple the number of animals for appropriate land management, reports The Horse.
The BLM says that private adoptions of these wild animals are key to controlling the overpopulation problem. Dr. Jill Stowe, a University of Kentucky associate professor of agricultural economics, and Hannah White, Stowe's student, created a survey to determine what horse owners thought about this solution to overpopulation. The team created a survey that was shared on social media to try to determine if enough people were willing to adopt one of these animals to eliminate the excess of animals.
The survey received 2,247 responses from horse owners who were over 18 years old. The research team found that more than 90 percent of those surveyed would be receptive to adopting a wild horse or burro in some capacity.
The scientists also found that “ … respondents are willing to pay an average of $282.03 more for a horse that has received training for basic ground manners and $539.21 more for a horse that has been started under saddle as compared with a completely unhandled horse,” reports Stowe.
Additionally, previous wild horse and burro adopters are willing to pay more, indicating that their first adoption experience was positive.
The team found that the two biggest barriers to adopting a wild horse or burro was accessibility to appropriate facilities and lack of experience, skills and time to start an unhandled horse.
Stowe concluded that if 4 to 5 percent of horse-owning households in the United State adopted one wild horse or burro, the 70,000-animal surplus could be eliminated. She suggested that education of horse owners on adoption requirements, training of horses and targeted information dissemination could help place more wild horses and burros.
Read more at The Horse
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