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U.S. Government will pay you up to $1,000 to adopt a horse, burro in South Texas

Animals were removed from the wild

The Bureau of Land Management will hold wild horse and burro auction at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Showgrounds in Mercedes on Jan. 10-11. (Bureau of Land Management)

More than 70 wild horses and burros will be up for grabs at an adoption event this weekend in South Texas.

The Bureau of Land Management is holding the adoption event and will pay up to $1,000 for the adoption of an untrained animal, the government agency wrote in a news release.

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The agency is willing to pay the incentive “as part of our efforts to find every horse and burro a good home,” it stated.

The event will take place at noon-6 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m.-noon Saturday at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Showgrounds in Mercedes.

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The Bureau of Land Management will hold wild horse and burro auction at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Showgrounds in Mercedes on Jan. 10-11. (Bureau of Land Management)

Those interested in adopting must be at least 18 years old, have no history of animal abuse and have a minimum of 400 square feet of corral space at their property. Certain corral, fence and trailer requirements are detailed online.

Applications will be approved on site.

Horses and burros range in age from yearling to adult. They all “once roamed free on public lands in the West,” the BLM states.

“The BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range in order to maintain healthy herds and to protect other rangeland resources,” according to the release. “The adoption and sale program is essential for achieving these important management goals.”

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More than 235,000 wild animals have been removed by the BLM and placed in homes since 1973.


About the Author
Rebecca Salinas headshot

Rebecca Salinas is the Digital Executive Producer at KSAT 12 News. A San Antonio native, Rebecca is an award-winning journalist who joined KSAT in 2019.

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