10/10/2025
The Truth About Wild Horses in Kill Pens Across the U.S.
A Message from Canham Farm Horse Rescue
Across the country, a heartbreaking pattern is unfolding — one that too few people know about. America’s wild horses, symbols of freedom and strength, are being found more and more often in kill pens — the final stop before being shipped across the border to Mexico or Canada for slaughter.
These horses once roamed free on public lands. But under government roundups, thousands are captured each year by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Once in holding facilities, they’re offered for adoption — a system that was meant to give them a second chance. Instead, many are funneled into a pipeline of betrayal.
How It Happens
Unscrupulous “adopters” often take advantage of the BLM’s “Sales Authority Horses - older horses or horses that have not been adopted after three attempts or “strikes”. These horses are offered for sale to the public for a minimum of $25 per horse with very little vetting or follow up by the BLM. Once in the buyer's hands the horses are often turned around for a “quick buck” and sold at auctions or directly dumped in a kill pen.
Kill pens are crowded, terrifying places where horses are held until they’re either bought by rescues or sold to “kill buyers” who ship them to slaughterhouses in Mexico or Canada. (images on this page may be distressing to some viewers) https://canhamfarm.com/caseforfunding/end-horse-slaughter/
There are only a handful of actual kill buyers shipping these horses to slaughter, notably
Rotz Livestock (Shippensburg, PA) — Bruce Jr./Cody Rotz.
Brian Moore (Oklahoma)
Stanley Brothers (Ohio)
Bowie Auction (Texas) — Operated by the O’Dwyer family who, at there own admission, ship horses to Mexico.
New Holland Auction (Pennsylvania) — one of the largest auctions; but that may decline due to campaigns for transparency across the border in Canada
We’ve seen young, freshly branded mustangs standing shoulder-to-shoulder with terrified domestic horses — hungry, confused, and betrayed by the very people who were supposed to protect them.
What We’re Seeing
In the past few months, more and more wild and orphaned foals have been turning up in feedlots and kill pens — some only a few months old, still too young to be weaned. Foals like Aiyana and Talula (pictured above) who were dumped along with other foals at a kill pen in Arizona. Others are branded mustangs with clear BLM markings, evidence of how widespread this issue has become.
These horses are often sick, injured, or traumatized when they arrive. Many are thin and dehydrated, some have never been handled, and all of them have lost the one thing that mattered most — their freedom.
How We’re Helping
At Canham Farm Horse Rescue, we’ve made it our mission to try to intervene wherever we can. We are a small rescue and are unable to take in more than one or two mustangs at a time. But when we hear of wild or orphaned mustang in kill pens, we advocate for their welfare, and try, through advocacy to put an end to this barbaric practice.
How You Can Help
You can make a real difference in stopping this cruel cycle.
Here’s how:
Donate: Every dollar helps us create awareness of horse slaughter and tackle the problem head-on, legally. https://canhamfarm.com/donate-support
Share Horse Slaughter Stories: The more people know, the fewer horses will end up in this pipeline of suffering.
Together, we can give these horses a voice — and the freedom they were born into.
Thank you all for your continued support,
Wishing you best wishes,
Julia
Canham Farm Horse Rescue is a 501(c)3 Non-profit dedicated to protecting wild horses from abuse, neglect, emotional trauma and slaughter. Your donation is tax deductible within the limits of the law. Our EIN is 82-0665406
Check us out on https://www.guidestar.org/profile/82-0665406
