Sponsors (19)
The bill favors reducing aerial roundups to improve animal welfare and transparency and to encourage non‑lethal management, but that shift could raise near‑term costs, add administrative burdens, and reduce rapid removal capacity unless scalable alternatives and funding are in place.
Taxpayers and public land users could see lower long‑term operating costs as BLM phases out contracted helicopter and fixed‑wing roundups and shifts to less aircraft‑dependent methods.
Wild free‑roaming horses and burros (and nearby wildlife) are likely to experience reduced stress, injury, and mortality from fewer aerial roundups and less disturbance to public lands.
The BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program could increase non‑lethal population management capacity by redirecting funding toward fertility‑control programs and other humane, land‑based methods.
Taxpayers could face higher near‑term and possibly sustained costs because ground‑based and fertility‑control approaches require upfront investment, veterinary and handling capacity, and may be more labor‑intensive than aircraft roundups.
Ranchers, rural communities, and land managers may experience reduced management effectiveness and slower or limited emergency removals if helicopters are eliminated before scalable alternatives are in place, harming rangeland health and resource protection.
Limiting aircraft use in rugged terrain could increase safety risks for BLM staff and animals if alternatives are less effective or put people and animals in more dangerous conditions during gathers.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Phases out helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft for BLM wild horse and burro roundups within two years, mandates camera-equipped aircraft if used, and orders a GAO report on alternatives and impacts.
Introduced July 10, 2025 by Alice Costandina Titus · Last progress July 10, 2025
Phases out the use of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft for Bureau of Land Management roundups of wild horses and burros over a two-year period, requires any aircraft still used to carry cameras and makes the footage public as part of roundup reports, and mandates a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on humane alternatives, job creation opportunities, and aircraft effects within one year.