A proposal by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to euthanize wild horses from the western rangelands has been condemned by an animal welfare group, which calls it a budget-balancing exercise.
"To set the record straight, euthanasia is mercy killing. That's certainly not what's being proposed here by any stretch of the imagination," says Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI).
"It's killing pure and simple to balance the books for an agency whose reckless management has caused immeasurable harm to a national treasure at considerable cost to the American taxpayer."
There are estimated to be about 32,000 horses roaming the rangelands of the western states. At least 30,000 more wild horses and burros are being fed and cared for at short-term and long-term holding facilities and costs, say the BLM, are soaring.
One cost-saving proposal being considered is euthanizing horses considered unsuitable for adoption, or offering them to willing buyers "without limitation" - a move certain to open the door to kill buyers.
Heyde described the policy proposal as a threat to the 30,000 horses in captivity and said it was motivated only by a desire to "balance the agency's budget".
He says the AWI vehemently opposes any move "that would sanction the mass killing of our nation's wild horses".
"In the last few years," he says, "the BLM's national wild horse and burro programme has changed leadership and direction - and, tragically, wild horses have paid the price.
"To placate the demands of livestock interests and despite protests from wild horse advocates, the agency began rounding up animals from the wild at an unprecedented rate, leaving many herds with so few animals that their long-term health and viability are now in serious jeopardy.
"Adoption demand could not keep pace with such drastic removals, requiring the BLM to contract for more and more private long-term holding facilities.
"Today," he says, "this misguided policy has shockingly resulted in more animals being held in confinement than run free in the wild.
"Now, BLM officials are seeking a magic bullet for the problem that they have irresponsibly created – adding a whole new subtext to the expression, 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'"
Heyde says the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed unanimously by Congress to stop the mass slaughter and commercial exploitation of these animals.
"Americans were outraged to learn what was happening then, and they will be even more irate to learn what the BLM is proposing today.
"Public support for the original Act is considered one of the largest grassroots campaigns on animal welfare issues in US history. It is time to reignite this passion if we are to save these magnificent animals from extinction on the range and in the wild."
The proposal to resume killing the public's wild horses will be discussed at the next National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting, in September.
Heyde urged swift action by the public and US Congress to protect horses whose lives, he says, are at risk at the hands of the very agency tasked with the responsibility to care for them.
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