LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A rewrite of 2015 rules on wild horse roundups would eliminate the use of helicopters and explore expanded roles for cowboys to do the work. The change would save taxpayer money, Democratic Nevada Rep. Dina Titus argues.

The legislation would also study the expanded use of birth control drugs on horses and burros to reduce herds.

Titus and two colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives reintroduced the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2025 on Thursday. Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) joined Titus in the bipartisan proposal.

“Nevada is home to more wild horses than any other state in our country. Tragically, these animals are subjected to taxpayer-funded helicopter roundups and removals that are all too often costly, ineffective, and inhumane,” Titus said. She has been a vocal critic of using helicopters.

(Image from video, courtesty Wild Horse Education)

“My legislation would eliminate the use of helicopters in BLM wild horse gathers and require a report to explore the benefits of alternative methods for humanely gathering horses and the workforce opportunities for traditional cowboys. I am proud to introduce this bipartisan proposal that would protect these icons of the American West which remain a source of pride for Nevada residents,” she said.

Support came immediately from American Wild Horse Conservation, an advocacy group that hailed the legislation’s phase-out of helicopter roundups over the next two years — along with a requirement to install cameras on helicopters now. The Animal Welfare Institute has also expressed its support.

A helicopter pushes wild horses during a roundup on July 16, 2021, near U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. Federal land managers are increasing the number of horses removed from the range this year during an historic drought. They say it’s necessary to protect the parched land and the animals themselves, but wild-horse advocates accuse them of using the conditions as an excuse to move out more of the iconic animals to preserve cattle grazing. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

“The Bureau of Land Management is charged with humanely managing our nation’s federally protected wild horses, yet every year we see horrific fatalities during helicopter roundups — from wild mustangs running for their lives on broken legs to foals dying from exhaustion,” Joanna Grossman, Ph.D., equine program director for the Animal Welfare Institute, said.

“Taxpayer dollars should not be funding this abject cruelty. We are grateful to Reps. Titus, Cohen, and Ciscomani for their leadership on this critical bill that would end the use of helicopter roundups and prioritize a more sustainable, humane path forward,” Grossman said.

8 News Now coverage of injuries to horses during the roundups over the years has shown the toll on animals, young and old.

For the BLM, “humane” is measured by following the rules, and a 1% death rate is to be expected. But it’s that 1% and the circumstances of what happens when horses die that has fueled lawsuits and a continuing battle over the use helicopters. BLM separates reports on horses that are “humanely euthanized” due to conditions that put the animal in danand horses that

“BLM agrees that the death of even one wild horse during a gather is heartbreaking … . However, due to the risks associated with gathering wild animals, deaths cannot always be avoided,” according to a statement contained in a response to a 2023 lawsuit

An image taken from video provided by the American Wild Horse Conservation of a roundup in northern Nevada on July 26, 2024. (Credit: AWHC)

The BLM is currently directed to “humanely capture” wild free-roaming horses and burros and set them up for adoption. To assist in the roundup of wild horses and burros, the BLM contracts directly with private enterprises, including helicopter companies, to pursue the animals over long distances, creating situations that can be frightening and even deadly to the animals, according to a news release announcing the legislation.

“These roundup practices also come at a steep cost to taxpayers. In the past five years (2020-2024), at least $36.7 million has been spent on roundups, including over $6 million paid to helicopter roundup contractors in fiscal year 2022 alone. Scientific research has shown that more humane and cost-effective alternatives, like fertility control, are equally effective in controlling equine populations. The BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, however, currently spends less than four percent of its budget on these methods. Rep. Titus’s Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2025 would more effectively advance the BLM’s directive to humanely capture horses while providing significant savings for taxpayers,” the news release said.

Titus is co-chair of the Congressional Wild Horse Caucus, an group of lawmakers that formed in May.

“We commend Representative Dina Titus for her leadership in introducing the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2025. This bill is a critical step toward ending the cruel and unnecessary use of helicopters in wild horse roundups and bringing long-overdue transparency to the Bureau of Land Management’s operations through immediate implementation of onboard cameras,” Suzanne Roy, executive director of American Wild Horse Conservation, said. “The American public overwhelmingly supports humane, accountable management of our iconic wild herds, and this legislation delivers just that.”

AWHC said more than 100,000 people have signed a “halt the helicopters” petition, and 64,000 have called for the use of cameras on helicopters used in roundups.