There are too many mustangs — both out on the range and crammed into captivity after government roundups — so euthanizing older horses needs to be an option, maintains a coalition supporting the idea.
Former Bureau of Land Management official Jenny Lesieutre told Cowboy State Daily that she wants killing captive mustangs over age 10 to be only a last resort.
Not having it on the table as an option at all, however, is hindering real progresstoward resolving decades of emotionally charged debate over what to do about Mustangs in Wyoming, Nevada and across the West, she said.
“How can we watch our ecosystems be destroyed over emotion?” Lesieutre said. “This isn’t healthy for the horses on the range. They are dying a slow, miserable death.”
Until 2005, federal law allowed for unfettered open sales of captive mustangs.
And also for euthanizing captive mustangs over age 10.
Lesieutre and others in the coalition, which includes numerous Wyoming hunting and conservation groups, want those options back on the books.
With those options back in play, the ideal scenario would be to clear out captive mustangs from holding facilities and pastures through adoptions and sales, making killing older horses unnecessary, she said.
Mustangs, Roundups And Protests
Lesieutre was the BLM’s state lead for the Wyoming wild horse and burro program before becoming the agency’s wild horse and burro public affairs specialist in Nevada.
She retired from that position in July 2024. She has since advocated for what she claims is intended application of the federal 1971 Wild and Free-Roaming Horses And Burros Act.
The act put the BLM in charge of Mustangs and burros running free across the American West and Southwest.
There has long been controversy over whether mustangs are truly wild animals, or essentially an invasive feral species.
Those leaning more toward the feral view argue that the horses don’t have any natural predators to control their numbers on the range.
The BLM has long conducted occasional roundups of mustangs. The operations have been hugely controversial. Advocates say it’s the only practical way to control the horse population out on the range.
Wild horse advocates argue that the roundups are unnecessary, because the mustangs are truly wild and aren’t overpopulated.
They say the roundups are also cruel, because helicopters are frequently used to push mustangs toward holding pens.
Terrified horses sometimes injure, or even kill themselves as they try to flee the choppers, advocates say.
Lesieutre pushed back against that claim. She recalls the old way of rounding up mustangs – using wranglers on horseback.
That was more dangerous for the horses, she said. At the ground level, wranglers often couldn’t tell if the mustang herd was charging toward barbed-wire fences, steep embankments, or perhaps even a cliff.
Whereas chopper pilots can spot those hazards from the air and push the horses away from them, she said.
Controversy over roundups has flared up again in Wyoming.
The BLM plans roundups intended to eventually remove all the mustangs from the Salt Wells Creek herd and some neighboring areas.
Activists gathered in Rock Springs in July 2024 to protest the roundups. Another protest in Rock Springs is planned for Thursday.
How Many Horses Is Too Many?
Unfettered sales, and possibly euthanasia, must be options, Lesieutre said. Government holding facilities and government-contracted pastures are chock full of mustangs from the roundups.
Room must be made for the horses that still need to be rounded up from the range, she said.
The number of free-running mustangs must be brought down to Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs), she said.
That’s necessary to preserve rangeland ecosystems and ensure healthy horse herds. And also, to protect wildlife species, such as mule deer, from being out-competed by ballooning mustang numbers, Lesieutre said.
The ideal AML for mustangs would be 25,556 mustangs and wild burros nationally – including 2,566 in Wyoming and 12,811 in Nevada, she said.
The current best estimates indicate that there are 94,114 animals nationwide, 8,706 in Wyoming and 51,525 in Nevada, Lesieutre said.
Jenny Lesieutre, president of Rangelands, Wildlife and Wild Horses LLC, rides a curly-haired mustang she adopted from a herd in Nevada. (Courtesy Jenny Lesieutre) 
Jenny Lesieutre, president of Rangelands, Wildlife and Wild Horses LLC, rides a curly-haired mustang she adopted from a herd in Nevada. (Courtesy Jenny Lesieutre) 
A herd of wild mustangs in Wyoming in this file photo. (Getty Images) 
A herd of wild mustangs in Wyoming in this file photo. (Getty Images)
Get Rid Of The Rider?
In 2005, a rider in a U.S. Congressional appropriations bill eliminated unlimited sales of wild horses and burros captured in roundups. And also did away with the option of euthanizing any of those animals over age 10.
That rider needs to be eliminated, according a June 15 letter sent to members of Congress and leading federal officials from the Coalition for Nevada’s Wildlife.
That letter was also signed by 120 partner organizations. Among them are numerous groups from Wyoming, or with chapters in this state.
That includes Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA).
BHA agrees that mustangs are overpopulated, and are hurting wildlife, such as mule deer, Devin O’Dea, the group’s Western policy and conservation manager, told Cowboy State Daily.
“We’re running out of space in these federal facilities” to hold horses, and it’s costing hundreds of millions of dollars, he said.
“We’re going to reach a situation where we just not going to have space,” he added.
BHA favors roundups to get the free-ranging mustang population down to AML numbers, O’Dea said.
After that, fertility control, such as injecting mustang mares with pregnancy-prevention medication, could keep the population at appropriate levels, he said.
BHA also doesn’t relish the thought of euthanizing captive mustangs, and would much rather see them adopted, he added.
Everybody Loves Mustangs
Lesieutre said a love for horses is a common thread that might help bring together the various groups currently squabbling over mustangs, and get them working together toward long-term solutions.
She added that she’s a huge advocate for mustang adoption, because she has an adopted mustang herself.
The mustang is of the rare curly-haired variety that came from a herd in Nevada, and is excellent for cattle drives, she said.
Lesieutre is featured in a short documentary film, “Hellbent,” which centers on the controversy over mustangs and possible solutions.
The film is set to be shown Thursday at the Wyoming International Film Festival in Cheyene.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
