Archive · 21 Aug 2026
Investigation Questions Sale of Protected Wild Horses
The U.S. government protects some wild horses called mustangs.
A government agency sold about 3,700 of these horses in 2025.
Some were sold for only $25.
The sales used a legal loophole.
The New York Times investigated what happened.
The investigation raised questions about who bought the horses.
It also raised concerns that some horses may have been sent to slaughterhouses.
The report did not establish the final fate of every horse.
The New York Times investigated the sale of federally protected wild horses.
The Bureau of Land Management sold around 3,700 wild horses in 2025.
Some horses were sold for as little as $25 each.
The sales occurred under what the report described as a legal loophole.
The investigation raised concerns that thousands of mustangs may have ended up in slaughterhouses.
- Who
- The Bureau of Land Management sold the horses, and The New York Times investigated the sales.
- What
- Around 3,700 federally protected wild horses were sold, raising questions about whether some reached slaughterhouses.
- When
- In 2025.
- Where
- The United States.
- Why
- The sales used a legal loophole, prompting concerns about buyers' intentions and the horses' fate.
- Agency involved
- Bureau of Land Management
- Animals sold
- Around 3,700 wild horses
- Year of sales
- 2025
- Lowest reported price
- $25 per horse
- Legal basis
- A legal loophole
- Investigation
- The New York Times
- Central concern
- Whether some horses ultimately ended up in slaughterhouses