Loophole Allows Feds To Flush Wild Horses Down The ‘Slaughter Pipeline’: REPORT

August 25, 2026 11:59 AM ET The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has quietly increased sales of federally protected wild horses, some of which end up in a complex pipeline that leads straight to a foreign slaughterhouse, according to a New York Times investigation published Aug. 20. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the number of wild horse sales doubled to 3,700 in 2025, The New York Times reported. However, a legal loophole alledly allows Americans to purchase an “unadoptable” horse, which can then be sold to a middleman, who can then sell it to foreign slaughter plants. (RELATED: Hunters Cry Fowl Over Trump Review They Fear Could Hammer Duck Populations Nationwide)“The BLM is using sales in a way that was never intended by the law to send young, healthy wild horses into