Skydog Sanctuary Demands Immediate Shutdown of Federal Wild Horse Sales Program After NY Times Confirms Slaughter Pipeline

Skydog's Year-Long Investigation Provides Key Evidence for Front-Page Exposé

MALIBU, Calif., Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Skydog Sanctuary, the nation's largest voice for wild horse and burro protection, today called for an immediate suspension of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wild Horse & Burro Sale Authority program following an investigation published today by The New York Times. The report confirmed that the federal program is actively funneling federally protected wild horses and burros directly into commercial slaughter pipelines.

In a formal letter sent this morning to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Skydog Sanctuary founder and president Clare Staples—representing the organization's 1.5 million supporters and followers—demanded an immediate suspension of the program. The letter accuses the BLM of violating federal law barring the agency from using federal funds to sell wild horses in a manner that results in their commercial slaughter.

"Following months of providing documentation, combing through BLM sales records, and monitoring BLM placement events and kill pens, Skydog is proud to see these urgent findings brought to national light by The New York Times," said Clare Staples. "The report published today confirms what we have documented on the ground for more than a year: the BLM's Sale Authority program is sending America's federally protected wild horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline."

"The BLM is saying to the public that slaughter is off the table, but they're doing it in plain site using a third party," Staples told the Times. "There are simple steps the bureau could take to end this, but they are turning a blind eye.And the only ones getting punished for what is going on are the horses."

Federal law strictly prohibits the BLM from using taxpayer funds for any sale that results in commercial slaughter. However, when a federal court restricted the agency's loophole-ridden Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) in March 2025, the slaughter traffic simply migrated into the Sale Authority program.

Key Findings From Skydog's Investigation (Oct 2024 – Present)

• A Historic, Unprecedented Crisis: The BLM sold an unprecedented 6,331 wild horses in 19 months—a massive surge over the agency's historic average of 1,200 sales a year. A shocking 55.4% of those animals (3,506 horses) were aged 1 to 4, the most highly adoptable, prime-age horses in the system.
• Agency Impunity & Ignored Complaints: Skydog has filed eight formal complaints with the BLM citing 13 specific incidents of sales violations, with no agency action taken. The Interior Office of Inspector General (OIG) similarly rejected Skydog's request for an investigation, referring the group back to the BLM.
• Predatory Pricing & Buyer Rings: Over 72% of the horses (4,597 animals) were sold at or below $25. Nearly 60% of all sales went to individuals buying in the maximum allowed bulk lots of four, with Skydog identifying many of these buyers as part of coordinated buying rings.
• Flipping Horses to Kill Pens: Skydog has tracked 333 wild horses and burros in kill pens this year, most purchased at BLM adoption events and resold within days, in direct violation of signed anti-slaughter contracts. The agency has taken no enforcement action against them.
• Bulk Sales & Taxpayer-Subsidized Delivery: The BLM awarded a bulk sales contract to livestock trader Brandon Jones, who acquired 496 wild horses over a single year with taxpayers covering shipping costs, just two months after Jones was cited for violating the federal Packers and Stockyards Act. Most are believed to have been sent directly to slaughter.

"It is a betrayal of the law and the American people, who pay $140 million a year to protect these animals, only to have them sold for twenty-five dollars to be butchered in foreign horse slaughter plants," Staples concluded.

Skydog Sanctuary remains committed to exposing the realities of the Wild Horse and Burro Program and protecting its victims.

About Skydog Sanctuary

With 1.5 million followers, Skydog Sanctuary is a leading national voice for protecting wild horses and burros from slaughter, providing permanent refuge to hundreds of animals across locations in Malibu and Santa Ynez, California, and a 9,000-acre ranch in Oregon. Due to federal agency inaction, Skydog has directly rescued over 30 wild horses out of the Sale Authority pipeline from commercial kill pens, providing 15 with permanent sanctuary refuge and placing the rest with reputable partner rescues.

High-resolution video, photos of wild horses in commercial kill pens, investigative tracking data, and footage of animals successfully rescued by Skydog are available upon request.

Contact:

Clare Staples, (310) 850-8849 / [email protected]

Suzanne Roy, 919-697-9389 / [email protected]

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SOURCE Skydog Sanctuary