Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Protection Act of 2022”.
Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Protection Act of 2022
A BILL
To amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to protect horses and burros from slaughter and ensure their humane management, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Amendments to the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act
Congressional findings and declaration of policy— Section 1 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (16 U.S.C. 1331) is amended by striking “in the area where presently found, as”.
in subsection (a), by striking “by him” in each place it occurs;
in subsection (b), by striking ““wild free-roaming horses and burros”” and inserting ““wild free-roaming horses and burros” or “wild free-roaming horses or burros””;
by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
“(d) “population” means all wild free-roaming horses and burros existing within the boundaries of a herd management area or range;”
in subsection (e), by striking “Service.” and inserting “Service;”
in subsection (f)—
by striking “or burros” and all that follows through “must be removed” and inserting “and burros that must be removed”; and
by striking “in that area.” and inserting “in that area;”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(g) “minimal feasible level” means a level that is least invasive and disruptive to the natural behaviors of wild free-roaming horses and burros and their ability to live on public lands;
“(h) “surgically sterilize” means to make an animal permanently incapable of producing offspring as a result of a procedure involving an incision and either—
“(1) the removal of reproductive organ(s); or
“(2) the alteration of reproductive organ(s) or surrounding tissue;
“(i) “fatally injured or terminally ill” means exhibiting an acute or chronic illness, injury, physical condition, or lameness that, as determined by a licensed veterinarian—
“(1) precludes an acceptable quality of life due to pain or suffering; or
“(2) has a minimal chance of recovery;
“(j) “appropriate management level” means the level at which the number of wild free-roaming horses and burros in a population are able to—
“(1) sustain themselves in a healthy condition;
“(2) produce healthy foals;
“(3) maintain healthy genetic diversity; and
“(4) sustain a thriving natural ecological balance;
“(k) “animal welfare or wild horse organization” means an organization—
“(1) described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3));
“(2) exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code; and
“(3) the mission and practice of which includes the humane treatment of wild horses and burros; and
“(l) “herd management area” means a designated area of public lands established for the maintenance and preservation of wild free-roaming horse and burro populations.”
Powers and duties of Secretary— Section 3 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (16 U.S.C. 1333) is amended—
in subsection (a)—
by striking “All wild free-roaming horses and burros are hereby” and inserting the following:
“(1) All wild free-roaming horses and burros are hereby”
by striking “he may designate and maintain specific ranges on public lands as sanctuaries for their protection and preservation, where the Secretary after consultation” and inserting “the Secretary may designate and maintain specific ranges on public lands as sanctuaries for the protection and preservation of wild free-roaming horses and burros, after consultation”;
by striking “He shall consider” and inserting “The Secretary shall consider”;
by inserting “wild free-roaming horses and burros as well as” before “the natural ecological balance”;
by inserting “wild free-roaming horses and burros and” before “other wildlife species”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(2) The Secretary shall provide for the welfare of wild free-roaming horses and burros during handling, management activities, removals, euthanasia, short-term holding, long-term holding, and all other activities conducted under this Act by—
“(A) establishing regulations, consistent with this Act, that—
“(i) require, and describe conditions for, humane treatment of the animals during such activities; and
“(ii) ensure measures are in place for violations of the requirements or conditions under clause (i) to be corrected as expeditiously as practicable; and
“(B) taking action as expeditiously as practicable to correct, prevent the recurrence of, and record violations of such regulations.”
in subsection (b)—
in paragraph (1)—
by striking “should be taken to remove excess animals” and inserting “should be taken to manage excess animals”;
by striking “determine whether appropriate management levels should be achieved by the removal or destruction of excess animals, or other options (such as sterilization, or natural controls on population levels)” and inserting “determine how the Secretary can achieve appropriate management levels using the most humane approaches available”; and
by striking “whom he determines” and inserting “whom the Secretary determines”;
by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively;
by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
“(2)
“(A) In order to better manage and protect wild free-roaming horses and burros, and to achieve and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance, the Secretary shall implement the most humane, minimally invasive, scientifically proven fertility control methods, such as reversible immunocontraception vaccines, to achieve on-range management goals.
“(B) In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary may contract with or enter into partnerships with nonprofit organizations (with preference given to veterans organizations and animal welfare or wild horse organizations trained or otherwise certified in the humane management or population control of wild horses and burros).
“(C) Nothing in this Act authorizes the Secretary to surgically sterilize any wild free-roaming horse or burro for the purposes of on-range population management.”
by amending paragraph (3), as so redesignated, to read as follows:
“(3)
“(A) The Secretary shall exhaust all practicable options for maintaining a thriving natural ecological balance on public lands before removing wild free-roaming horses and burros, including reallocating forage within the herd management area or range, the use of reversible immunocontraceptives, or relocating excess animals to herd management areas or ranges.
“(B) A determination to remove excess animals from public lands must be made on the basis of—
“(i) the current inventory of lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary;
“(ii) information contained in any land use planning completed pursuant to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712);
“(iii) information contained in court-ordered environmental impact statements, as defined in section 3 of the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 1902);
“(iv) the best available science; and
“(v) such additional information as becomes available to the Secretary from time to time, including that information developed in the research study mandated by this section.
“(C) In the absence of the information contained in clauses (i) through (v) of subparagraph (B), a determination to remove excess animals from public lands must be made on the basis of all information currently available to the Secretary that such removal is necessary.
“(D) After publishing in the Federal Register a determination to remove excess animals from public land, the Secretary may cause excess animals to be humanely captured and removed for private maintenance and care for which the Secretary determines an adoption demand exists by qualified individuals prior to removal, except in the case of a removal pursuant to subsection (j).
“(E) The Secretary must ensure humane treatment and care of the animals (including proper transportation, feeding, and handling), including by requiring that—
“(i) not more than four animals may be adopted per year by any individual; and
“(ii) each individual adopter execute an appropriate attestation, pursuant to section 1001 of title 18, United States Code, affirming that the adopter will not cause or allow an adopted animal or its remains to be processed into a commercial product, including by any action described in section 8(a)(4).”
in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, by striking “assisting him in making his” and inserting “assisting the Secretary in making a”;
in subsection (c)—
by striking “Where excess animals have” and inserting “When a wild free-roaming horse or burro has”; and
by striking “one-year period” and inserting “one-year period only after the Secretary or a trained representative completes a compliance inspection and it is determined that there are no violations of applicable laws, regulations, or contract terms”;
in subsection (d)—
in paragraph (1), by striking “except for the limitation of subsection (c)(1)”;
by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
“(3) upon destruction by the Secretary or a designee of the Secretary pursuant to subsection (h) of this section.”
by striking paragraphs (4) and (5);
by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:
“(e) Funds generated from the adoption of excess animals under this subsection shall be—
“(1) credited as an offsetting collection to the Management of Lands and Resources appropriation for the Bureau of Land Management; and
“(2) used for the costs relating to the adoption of wild free-roaming horses and burros, including the costs of marketing such adoption.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(f) For the purposes of carrying out a successful wild free-roaming horse and burro adoption program, the Secretary shall—
“(1) work with animal welfare or wild horse organizations to secure safe placement of wild free-roaming horses and burros;
“(2) screen potential adopters;
“(3) educate adopters in humane care;
“(4) maintain adoption records, including records of violations, in a centralized database system; and
“(5) pursue agreements with organizations that use horses for rehabilitation, therapy, prison training, or veteran programs.
“(g) The Secretary may not administer a program through which potential adopters may be offered a cash or monetary incentive for successful completion of the adoption process.
“(h) The Secretary may not destroy or authorize the destruction of wild free-roaming horses or burros unless the Secretary—
“(1) determines, based on the evaluation of a licensed veterinarian, that the wild free-roaming horse or burro is fatally injured or terminally ill; and
“(2) ensures that the wild free-roaming horse or burro is euthanized in the most humane manner available.
“(i) The Secretary may not—
“(1) process, authorize to be processed, or ship, move, deliver, receive, possess, purchase, sell, donate, or transport for processing any animal that is or was at any point during its life a wild free-roaming horse or burro, or the remains thereof, into commercial products; or
“(2) carry out any activity described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary has reason to believe the animal will be processed into commercial products as a result.
“(j) The Secretary may temporarily remove wild free-roaming horses and burros from public lands if the immediate health or safety of those wild free-roaming horses or burros is threatened.
“(k) Except in cases of removal under subsection (j), if the Secretary removes wild free-roaming horses or burros, the Secretary shall provide a public notice on a public website of the Secretary’s department at least 30 days before the planned removal.
“(l) The Secretary shall—
“(1) track the number of wild free-roaming horses and burros injured or killed during gathering and holding, along with a brief description of the injury or cause of death, in a centralized database system; and
“(2) publish such information on a public website of the Secretary’s department.”
Private maintenance; Numerical approximation; Strays on private lands; Removal; Destruction by agents— Section 4 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (16 U.S.C. 1334) is amended—
by inserting “or returned to public lands” after “arrange to have the animals removed”;
by inserting “pursuant to section 3(h)” after “by the agents of the Secretary”;
by striking “his private lands” and inserting “the landowner’s private lands”;
by striking “if he does so” and inserting “if the private landowner does so”;
by striking “removed or enticed from the public lands” and inserting “caused to leave public lands for the purpose of converting the animals into private property (including by removal or enticement)”; and
by striking “and supply him” and inserting “and supply the Secretary”.
Cooperative agreements; regulations— Section 6 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (16 U.S.C. 1336) is amended—
by inserting “, nonprofit organizations, private entities,” after “landowners”; and
by striking “he deems” and inserting “the Secretary deems”.
Criminal provisions— Section 8 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (16 U.S.C. 1338) is amended—
by striking “Any person who” and inserting the following:
“(a) Any person who”
by amending paragraph (4) of subsection (a), as so redesignated, to read as follows:
“(4)
“(A) processes, authorizes to be processed, or ships, moves, delivers, receives, possesses, purchases, sells, donates, or transports for processing any animal that is or was at any point during its life a wild free-roaming horse or burro, or the remains thereof, into commercial products, or
“(B) carries out any activity described in paragraph (1) if the person has reason to believe the animal will be processed into commercial products as a result, or”
in paragraph (6) of subsection (a), as so redesignated—
by inserting “, and shall not be allowed to adopt or purchase any animal that is or was at any point during its life a wild free-roaming horse or burro” after “or both”; and
by striking “he was appointed” and inserting “such judge was appointed”.
Transportation of captured animals; Procedures and prohibitions applicable— Section 9 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (16 U.S.C. 1338a) is amended—
by striking “may use or contract for the use of helicopters or, for the purpose of transporting captured animals, motor vehicles. Such use” and inserting “shall prioritize use of the most humane, passive techniques, such as bait-and-trap techniques, for any capture of wild free-roaming horses and burros. The use of non-passive techniques with respect to the capture of wild free-roaming horses and burros”; and
by striking “fixed-wing aircraft, or helicopters, or to” and inserting “or”.
Limitation of authority— Section 10 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (16 U.S.C. 1339) is repealed.
Joint report to Congress; Consultation and coordination of implementation, enforcement, and departmental activities; Studies— Section 11 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (16 U.S.C. 1340) is amended by striking “he might” and inserting “the Secretary might”.
Sec. 3 GAO report
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit, to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, a report that describes—
humane alternatives to the use of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in managing wild free-roaming horse and burro populations;
job creation opportunities presented by the use of such humane alternatives; and
the effects of aircraft, including unmanned aircraft systems, on wild free-roaming horse and burro populations.