New Mexico lawmakers weighing letting local governments manage wild mustang

Jun. 29—Call them four-legged symbols of the pioneer spirit.

Wild mustangs.

They're "the most American animal ... the king of the Plains," said filmmaker Steven Latham, who co-directed the documentary The Mustangs: America's Wild Horses.

The Northern New Mexico Horseman's Association is hosting a Wednesday evening screening of the film at the Santa Fe Playhouse to benefit the Cerrillos-based The Horse Shelter, which rescues and rehabilitates horses. But that, mustang advocates say, is just the kickoff to a bigger effort that may end up in the Roundhouse next year.

While the 7 p.m. screening of the documentary is sold out, the theme behind the film — that something must be done to manage and protect the free-roaming equines in New Mexico and beyond — is a potential legislative issue in the 2023 session.

Several lawmakers, including Sen. Brenda McKenna, D-Corrales, and Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview, are working on drafting legislation that will give local governments the power to deal with wild horses as they see fit.

That includes a proposal that seems almost antithetical to the animals' very nature: putting them in a protected sanctuary environment where they could be cared for, McKenna said.

The spirit of the bill, McKenna said, will include a program designed to ensure mustangs don't overpopulate in a country stricken with drought and without enough vegetation to sustain either the horses or livestock.

Estimates on wild horses in New Mexico vary wildly. According to the Bureau of Land Management, there were 237 on lands the agency manages in 2021. Other estimates say there as many as 1,000 statewide.

Woods said the wild mustang issue is key in areas such as Ruidoso, Placitas, Alto and perhaps Corrales. He said in some areas of Placitas you can see some areas where "vegetation has been taken down to the dirt" by the horses.

But those horses are starving, and Woods said he knows people who put food out for them in places where "there's nothing out there to eat."

He said the bill would not include wild horses that fall under federal oversight on Bureau of Land Management land. He said he sees the issue as a "county problem" for which local officials should have clear guidance on what they can do about wild horses.

Jessica Johnson, chief government affairs officer for Animal Protection Voters, said her organization is working with the lawmakers to fashion the bill.

She said the plan is to ensure a way for local communities to "respond to the given situation and manage their wild horses. We also want to set parameters on what responsible management looks like.

"We don't want to repeat mistakes that the federal government has made with federally managed herds on BLM land," Johnson added.

Wild horse advocates often criticize the BLM for its use of helicopters to herd the animals. Many are hurt or killed in the chase, they contend.

Though the BLM does not euthanize healthy horses, it can do so with horses or burros suffering from serious wounds or medical problems. It holds many of the horses it captures in off-range holding pens, where they can be adopted.

They can also die there, as happened recently at a holding pen in Canon City, Colo., where 140 perished due to a contagious disease.

Johnson said the legislation ideally would first allow county officials to contract with an agency to conduct counts of wild mustangs in their jurisdiction. Then they would be free to come up with some options for how to deal with them. If they feel the horse count is excessive, they can work with local horse rescue groups to adopt those animals, she said.

Susan Hemmerle, director of The Horse Shelter, said her nonprofit does take in stray horses. She said it takes time to socialize those horses to humans and to being haltered and handled.

She said the proposed legislation is "a really good step forward on rescues" for those horses.

Every other year, including 2023, legislative sessions are 60 days long. Unlike 30-day sessions, in which the governor sets the agenda and must approve legislation for consideration, lawmakers can file any bill they want in a two-month session.

McKenna said she hopes the bill's sponsors and supporters can meet with the governor's staff in advance of the session to explain the bill and call on their support.

The fiscal impact of the bill on counties dealing with wild horse issues are unclear.

But Woods said, "management costs money." He added counties could perhaps ask voters to support a mill levy effort to raise funds for the initiative.