Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3656 To amend the Act commonly known as the Wild Free-roaming Horses and Burros Act to prohibit certain uses of aircraft with respect to the management of wild free-roaming horses and burros, and for other pur- poses. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 24, 2023 Ms. TITUS (for herself, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. SCHWEIKERT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Act commonly known as the Wild Free-roam- ing Horses and Burros Act to prohibit certain uses of aircraft with respect to the management of wild free- roaming horses and burros, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wild Horse and Burro 4 Protection Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3656.IH H3656 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3656 IH (1) As part of efforts to control equine popu- 1 lations under law, the Bureau of Land Management 2 is directed to humanely capture wild free-roaming 3 horses and burros for adoption. 4 (2) The use of helicopters to chase equines over 5 prolonged distances, usually on rough terrain, is par- 6 ticularly dangerous, and can frighten the animals 7 and lead to deadly situations. 8 (3) In January 2022, during the horse gath- 9 ering at the Pancake Complex in central Nevada, a 10 young colt was chased for miles by helicopter, ulti- 11 mately gravely injuring itself, and necessitating the 12 need for the animal to be shot and killed. 13 (4) Scientific research shows that more humane 14 and cost-effective alternatives exist to control equine 15 populations, including fertility controls. 16 (5) Since fiscal year 2006, Bureau of Land 17 Management contractors have collected at least 18 $57.4 million in taxpayer funding for roundups that 19 utilize the use of helicopters, including bait-and-trap 20 methods. 21 (6) Since fiscal year 2017, the Bureau of Land 22 Management has obligated at least $22.5 million in 23 taxpayer funding for the specific purpose of heli- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3656.IH H3656 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3656 IH copter roundups, including $6.5 million in fiscal year 1 2022 alone. 2 (7) Currently, the Bureau of Land Manage- 3 ment’s Wild Horse and Burro Program spends less 4 than one percent of its budget on implementing fer- 5 tility controls. 6 (8) The elimination of helicopters from the Bu- 7 reau of Land Management’s gatherings would pro- 8 vide a more humane method of capturing equines, 9 and provide significant savings to taxpayers. 10 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE WILD FREE-ROAMING 11 HORSES AND BURROS ACT. 12 Section 9 of the Act commonly known as the Wild 13 Free-roaming Horses and Burros Act (Public Law 92– 14 195; 16 U.S.C. 1338a) is amended— 15 (1) by striking ‘‘In administering this Act’’ and 16 inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In administering this 17 Act’’; 18 (2) by striking ‘‘helicopters or, for the purpose 19 of transporting captured animals, motor vehicles’’ 20 and inserting ‘‘motor vehicles for the purpose of 21 transporting captured animals’’; 22 (3) by striking ‘‘fixed-wing aircraft, or heli- 23 copters, or to’’ and inserting ‘‘or’’; and 24 (4) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3656.IH H3656 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3656 IH ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN USES OF AIR- 1 CRAFT.—In administering this Act, the Secretary may not 2 use or contract for the use of helicopters or fixed-wing air- 3 craft for the purposes of rounding up or gathering wild 4 free-roaming horses and burros.’’. 5 SEC. 4. GAO REPORT. 6 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 7 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit, to the 8 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep- 9 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 10 Resources of the Senate, a report that describes— 11 (1) humane alternatives to the use of heli- 12 copters and fixed-wing aircraft in managing wild 13 free-roaming horse and burro populations; 14 (2) job creation opportunities presented by the 15 use of such humane alternatives; and 16 (3) the effects of aircraft, including unmanned 17 aircraft systems, on wild free-roaming horse and 18 burro populations. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3656.IH H3656 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS