Bureau Of Land Management Rounds Up Wild Horses

EUREKA, NV - JULY 8: A group of wild horses is rounded up during a gathering July 8, 2005 in Eureka, Nevada. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management wants to reduce herds in the American west, where an estimated 37,000 of the horses roam free, to 28,000 by the end of 2005. The U.S. periodically removes thousands of horses and donkeys in an attempt to ensure western rangelands have adequate food and water for the animals to survive. Those animals are either adopted out or housed indefinitely on government sanctuaries. Currently 24,000 horses and donkeys are housed in government-run facilities. Recently passed legislation allows for the sale for slaughter of wild horses and donkeys older than ten years old and animals that have been unsuccessfully offered for adoption at least three times, eliminating restrictions that had been in place since 1971 which prevented wild horses from being sold commercially. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)