Today 9:59 am
//////Arizona just did what Washington won't: actually protect its wild horses.
A New York Times investigation this month exposed how federal wild horse sales have skyrocketed under Trump, with the Bureau of Land Management offloading roughly 3,700 horses in 2025—more than double the previous year.
Buyers promise not to send them to slaughter, but critics say that pledge falls apart the moment a horse gets flipped to a middleman who never signed anything. Advocates told Newsweek some of these horses have turned up in "k!ll pens," the last stop before slaughter buyers. The Interior Department maintains BLM "does not sell or send wild horses or burros to slaughter."
Arizona isn't leaving it to chance. Gov. Katie Hobbs just halted all removals from the Salt River Horse Herd through 2027, scrapping a plan that would have pulled 25 horses a year from the wild. She's also bumping the herd's target population from 120 to 170 and lining up funding for state universities to study what these horses actually need to survive — pending a Board of Regents vote scheduled for August 27, 2026.
"I am taking action to ensure the sustainability and health of the Salt River Horse Herd for generations to come," Hobbs said.
The reversal comes after a summer of pushback, including a Capitol rally where advocates pressed Hobbs to let science drive the herd's future instead of a fixed removal timeline. Simone Netherlands, who runs the group managing the herd, welcomed the news: "This suspension of removals and new study will allow us to continue our successful management of the herd and ensure that the Salt River Horses are healthy and thriving."
Washington's still looking away. Arizona just showed everyone what actually stepping up looks like. See less
A New York Times investigation this month exposed how federal wild horse sales have skyrocketed under Trump, with the Bureau of Land Management offloading roughly 3,700 horses in 2025—more than double the previous year.
Buyers promise not to send them to slaughter, but critics say that pledge falls apart the moment a horse gets flipped to a middleman who never signed anything. Advocates told Newsweek some of these horses have turned up in "k!ll pens," the last stop before slaughter buyers. The Interior Department maintains BLM "does not sell or send wild horses or burros to slaughter."
Arizona isn't leaving it to chance. Gov. Katie Hobbs just halted all removals from the Salt River Horse Herd through 2027, scrapping a plan that would have pulled 25 horses a year from the wild. She's also bumping the herd's target population from 120 to 170 and lining up funding for state universities to study what these horses actually need to survive — pending a Board of Regents vote scheduled for August 27, 2026.
"I am taking action to ensure the sustainability and health of the Salt River Horse Herd for generations to come," Hobbs said.
The reversal comes after a summer of pushback, including a Capitol rally where advocates pressed Hobbs to let science drive the herd's future instead of a fixed removal timeline. Simone Netherlands, who runs the group managing the herd, welcomed the news: "This suspension of removals and new study will allow us to continue our successful management of the herd and ensure that the Salt River Horses are healthy and thriving."
Washington's still looking away. Arizona just showed everyone what actually stepping up looks like. See less