Considered a symbol of the American West, wild horses are federally protected along with wild burros, but some fear that they're now in danger from the very agency who should be protecting them.
The Bureau of Land Management says that wild horses are over populated. The horses are competing with cattle and other interests for the use of public land.
To manage the size of the herds, over the years many have been rounded up. Nearly 45,000 are now being held in enormous pens, costing $50 million dollars a year.
Recently, a Bureau of Land Management advisory board has recommended selling or euthanizing non-adoptable animals, an idea that has outraged some.
The Bureau has swiftly rejected the idea, promising not to put down healthy animals in the pens and promising not to euthanize healthy animals on the range land.
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