A Florida Republican is introducing legislation that could help the federal government adopt more wild horses and burros into private care, while also providing a stronger criminal penalty for later selling these animals for slaughter.
The bill, which Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said she will file Thursday, would assist a Bureau of Land Management program designed to adopt out wild horses and burros that have been rounded up off of federal rangelands.
Specifically, it would amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 to shorten the time frame required for people who adopt, or in separate cases purchase the federally protected animals to receive title and full ownership, to six months from one year, according to the text of the bill.
The main goal is aimed at increasing the number of participants in BLM’s adoption incentive program, implemented in 2019, that pays $1,000 to private landowners who adopt a wild horse that has been rounded up and removed from federal rangelands. The adopters don’t get the full $1,000 until they receive title to the horse after a year.
