In an effort to control the population of wild horses and buros in the U.S. midwest, the federal government is offering an incentive to anyone who adopts a wild horse or burro. The Adoption Incentive Program allows adoptees of wild, untrained and unhandled horses and burros to collect $1000. The animal can be adopted through BLM facilities, off-site events and on the Online Corral but can’t have come through any training program such as the Mustang Heritage Foundation and training incentive program trainers are not eligible. Animals bought through sales events are also not eligible. BLM employees, employees that work for organizations that work with BLM and their immediate families are also not eligible. And, the animal must be purchased after March 12, 2019.
There is a $25 fee to apply to the program. Adoptees will receive $500 within 60 days of adopting the animals. They will then receive another $500 within 60 days of receiving title on the horse. The title proves that ownership of the animal has been transferred from the BLM to you. Later on, if you decide to sell, the title must go with the horse or burro.
The incentive is offered because the long term keep of these animals costs far more than the incentive being offered. The cost to keep a horse over its lifetime is around $50,000 per horse. The BLM claims that there is an overpopulation of wild horses and burros that threaten their health and the health of the ecosystems they live in. Taxpayers currently fund the care of about 50,000 wild horses and burros in BLM facilities each year. In 2018, the BLM sold and adopted out about 4600 horses, but the population growth continues to exceed the rate of placing these horses with private citizens.
While $1000 per horse for up to four horses sounds like a generous incentive that amount can easily be spent on shipping alone depending on where the horse will be transported to. And, if the new owner chooses to have the horse trained, the costs can easily exceed $1000. For many people, the yearly cost of a horse’s upkeep will exceed that amount. Proving only perhaps, that there’s no such thing as a free horse, even when it comes with an incentive.
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