Wild horse and burro placement event to find new homes for animals while controlling populations 🐎

WEST BEND, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Bureau of Land Management is planning their 2023 placement event for wild horses and burros in West Bend.

This move is part of an effort to find homes for around 30-70 animals gathered from western rangelands in states, such as Nevada and Wyoming.

The annual event will take place at the Washington County Fair Park on Friday, Sept. 8 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 9 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Appointments for adoptions and sales are being held during those times, with the option to reserve specific time slots.

The BLM's Adoption Incentive Program aims to improve rangeland health in overpopulated herd areas, offering qualified adopters an incentive of $1,000 after one year of owning an untrained animal. Animals that are over 10 years old or have been unsuccessfully adopted three times may also be sold.

BLM public affairs specialist Martha Malik told CBS 58 during the 2022 event that horse population is over an appropriate level of management, saying, "There's currently over 82,000 animals that are still on the ranges and these kinds of events like this helps to balance out the ecosystems."

People interested in participating can make an appointment and should disclose their top three preferred time slots by emailing the bureau by clicking here.