BOZEMAN – On Friday evening, 25 wild horses went up for sale for the first buyers to make an offer.
The horses are being sold as part of the Wild Horse and Burro program within the Bureau of Land Management.
Horses for sale cost $25 and horses for adoption cost $125 and the buyer will not receive a title for the animal until it’s passed a health inspection a year following purchase. During that one year period, when the adopted animal is within the care of the buyer, it is eligible for return.
Jerry Bertola, program manager for the Montana Dakota region, said the objective of the sale is to protect the wild horse population by removing some of the animals and putting them up for sale.
According to BLM, there’s more than 73,000 wild horses and burros roaming rangeland across the country.
"For some of them the range quality is worse than others," said Blair Street, an intern pursuing a career with the program. "There’s that fight between cattle and horses for the same land."
So far this year the program has held 4 wild horse and burro auctions with more than 100 animals being purchased. No burros were available at the Bozeman horse sale and adoption.
The event is scheduled Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Sunday buyers can pick up their animals.
