The BLM has proposed offering an incentive of up to $1,000 to anyone willing to adopt a wild horse or burro residing the agency's holding corrals. | Photo: iStock

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed offering up to $1,000 to anyone willing to adopt a Mustang currently residing the agency’s holding corrals in an attempt to boost adoptions, but wild horse advocates are slamming the idea as costly and potentially dangerous to the horses.

The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act protects wild horses and burros and places them under BLM jurisdiction. Since the legislation’s passing, the agency’s methods and costs for managing the herds have become controversial among ranchers who graze livestock on public lands and wild horse welfare advocates alike.

In its April 26 report to Congress, the BLM proposed instituting a program that would offer anyone who adopts a wild horse or burro an incentive of up to $1,000, paid at the point of adoption