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Unwanted: The Causes and Effects of America’s Horse Population Crisis, began as a project to give Christina Keim’s University of New Hampshire students a comprehensive source on the issues facing America’s horses when they are sold or otherwise surrendered by their owners. The result is a deeply researched work that blends narrative storytelling with interviews
The Ejiao Act (HR 5544), led by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), was reintroduced in September to protect donkeys from the inhumane trade in their hides. Donkey hides are boiled to produce a gelatin known as “ejiao” that is used in traditional Chinese medicines and added to supplements, aphrodisiacs, cosmetics, and food items. An estimated 5
Imagine not being able to lift your head for hours on end in a moving vehicle. For horses forced to travel in double-deck trailers, this is the reality. While experts agree that the proper ceiling height for horse trailers is 7–8 feet, double-deck trailers, which are designed to transport shorter livestock such as cattle and
The horse-drawn carriages in Central Park have long been a flashpoint in New York City, with some regarding them as a romantic tourist attraction and others viewing them as relics of the past that are harmful to the horses themselves. Indeed, in today’s urban areas, horses who pull carriages face a host of health and
We are delighted to report that on July 15, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in our favor in our lawsuit to protect thousands of wild horses in Wyoming and preserve millions of acres of their designated habitat. Represented by the public interest law firm Eubanks & Associates, AWI, American Wild
In encouraging news, both Senate and House fiscal year 2026 Agriculture Appropriations bills winding their way through Congress contain provisions that continue to bar horse slaughter operations in the United States. The House and Senate Interior Appropriations bills also maintain long-standing protections against the slaughter and lethal control of wild horses—provisions absent from the administration’s
In exciting news, the bipartisan Congressional Wild Horse Caucus was established in May—the first caucus dedicated to preserving and protecting America’s cherished wild horses and burros. Led by Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), the caucus will serve as a vital forum in Congress to advance humane
Two of AWI’s priority equine bills were reintroduced at the end of February in recognition of National Horse Protection Day on March 1. Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) sponsored the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act (HR 1661/S 775) to permanently end
In September, more than 100 representatives of equine rescue, sanctuary, and advocacy organizations from across the country met in Washington, DC, for the 2024 Homes for Horses Coalition (HHC) Conference. HHC, co-led by AWI and American Wild Horse Conservation, is dedicated to ending horse slaughter and other forms of equine cruelty. Its 500+ members are
The 2024 edition of the annual “A Voice for Animals” contest, sponsored by AWI, the Humane Education Network, and the Palo Alto Humane Society, once again provided a platform for young advocates to highlight and showcase solutions to issues affecting animal welfare. Prizes were awarded for essays, photo essays, and videos involving an array of
On October 16, AWI and other advocacy groups rallied in front of Amazon’s second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, to deliver more than 370,000 petition signatures urging the company to ban the sale of ejiao, a gelatin made from donkey hides. Millions of donkeys are killed each year to supply skins for a growing trade in
Spending bills for the 2025 fiscal year are shaping up in Congress, and AWI is working to ensure animal welfare measures are included. The Senate Agriculture Appropriations report includes first-of-its-kind language directing the US Department of Agriculture to prioritize research and development of nitrogen-based methods of “depopulation” (the killing of animals en masse, usually to
In June, the US Supreme Court declined to take up a case involving a challenge to the oversight authority of the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) by the states of Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Louisiana; their respective racing commissions; and other industry groups. Consequently, a ruling against the challenge by the US Court
Even an ardent equine enthusiast will likely come away with a new appreciation for the horse after reading Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History. Ambitious in scope, the book examines humanity’s close relationship with horses across the globe since the dawn of civilization. Author William T. Taylor, assistant professor and curator of archaeology at the
A historic win for equine welfare was achieved in May when the US Department of Agriculture finalized long-awaited Horse Protection Act (HPA) regulations to protect Tennessee walking horses from the brutal practice of horse soring—whereby horses are intentionally injured on their legs and hooves to create painful areas that “enhance” their gait for competitions. These
AWI worked with Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Steve Cohen (D-TN)—two stalwart champions for equine welfare—to denounce the Bureau of Land Management’s reckless plan to round up approximately 20,000 wild horses during fiscal year 2024. In a January letter to the head of the BLM, the lawmakers called attention to the agency’s plan to treat
Against a backdrop of picturesque mountains, past coils of razor wire, once-wild horses stand in the frozen dirt of the Cañon City Off-Range Corral. The corral—an enormous grid of pipe-paneled paddocks and hay fields that can hold up to 3,000 wild equines—is located within an expansive Colorado Department of Corrections campus. Six (human) prisons lie
The House appropriations committee and the full Senate have approved spending bills for the US Department of Agriculture, and both include important provisions for animal welfare. The House bill expresses Congress’s concern about the mounting evidence that fur farms are “potential vectors for zoonotic diseases,” including COVID-19 and bird flu, and about the “lack of
In October, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) reintroduced the Ejiao Act (HR 6021) to protect donkeys from a burgeoning global trade that has claimed millions of these animals’ lives and resulted in terrible suffering. Ejiao (pronounced “eh-gee-yow”) is a gelatin derived from boiled donkey hides that is used in cosmetics and traditional Chinese medicines. (See AWI Quarterly, summer 2022.)
Two bills were introduced to curb cruel, costly, and dangerous wildlife management methods. In May, Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and David Schweikert (R-AZ) reintroduced the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act (HR 3656), a bill to prohibit the inhumane and expensive use of helicopters to round up wild equines from the range. In June, Reps. Jared