TITLE 43-CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS

• TITLE 43-CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS

TITLE 43-CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS
(as of 7/1/94)

Part 4700-WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSE AND BURRO MANAGEMENT

........Note: The information collection requirements contained in Group 4700 have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget and assigned clearance number 1004-0042. The information is being collected to permit the authorized officer to remove wild horses and burros from private land and to determine whether an application for adoption of and title to wild horses or burros should be granted. Responses are required to obtain benefits.
........ Public reporting burden for this information is estimated to average 0.165 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, Division of Information Resources Management, Bureau of Land Management (770), 1849 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20240, and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project 1004-0042, Washington, DC 20503.

[51 FR 7414, Mar. 3. 1986, as amended at 56 FR 786. Jan. 9. 1991]

PART 4700-PROTECTION, MANAGEMENT, AND CONTROL OF WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS

Subpart 4700-General

4700.0-1 ........Purpose.
4700.0-2 ........Objectives.
4700.0-3 ........Authority.
4700.0-5 ........Definitions.
4700.0-6 ........Policy.
4700.0-9 ........Collections of information.

Subpart 4710-Management Considerations

4710.1 Land use planning.
4710.2 Inventory and monitoring.
4710.3 Management areas.
4710.3-1 ........Herd management areas.
4710.3-2 ........Wild horse and burro ranges.
4710.4 Constraints on management.
4710.5 Closure to livestock grazing.
4710.6 Removal of unauthorized livestock in or near areas occupied by wild horses or burros.
4710.7 Maintenance of wild horses and burros on privately controlled lands.

Subpart 4720-Removal

4720.1 Removal of excess animals from public lands.
4720.2 Removal of strayed or excess animals from private lands.
4720.2-1 ........Removal of strayed animals from private lands.
4720.2-2 ........Removal of excess animals from private lands.

Subpart 4730-Destruction of Wild Horses or Burros and Disposal of Remains

4730.1 Destruction.
4730.2 Disposal of remains.

Subpart 4740-Motor Vehicles and Aircraft

4740.1 Use of motor vehicles or aircraft.
4740.2 Standards for vehicles used for transport of wild horses and burros.

Subpart 4750-Private Maintenance

4750.1 Private maintenance.
4750.2 Health, identification, and inspection requirement.
4750.2-1 ........ Health and identification requirements.
4750.2-2 ........ Brand inspection.
4750.3 Application requirements for private maintenance.
4750.1-1 Application for private maintenance of wild horses and burros.
4750.5-2 ........ Qualification standards for private maintenance.
4750.3-3 Supporting Information and certification for private maintenance of more than 4 wild horses or burros.
4750.3-4 ........ Approval or disapproval of applications.
4750.4 Private maintenance of wild horses and burros.
4750.4-1 ........ Private Maintenance and Care Agreement.
4750.4-2 ........ Adoption fee.
4750.4-3Request to terminate Private Maintenance and Care Agreement.
4750.4-4 ........ Replacement animals.
4750.5 Application for title to wild horses and burros.

Subpart 4760-Compliance

4760.1Compliance with the Private Maintenance and Care Agreement.

Subpart 4770-Prohibited Acts, Administrative Remedies, and Penalties

4770.1 Prohibited acts.
4770.2 Civil penalties.
4770.1 Administrative remedies.
4770.4 Arrest.
4770.5 Criminal penalties.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1331-1340, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., 18 U.S.C. 47, 43 U.S.C. 315.
Source: 51 FR 7414, Mar. 3, 1986, unless otherwise noted.

SUBPART 4700-GENERAL

§4700.0-1 Purpose.
........ The purpose of these regulations is to implement the laws relating to the protection, management, and control of wild horses and burros under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management.

§4700.0-2 Objectives.
........ The objectives of these regulations are management of wild horses and burros as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands under the principle of multiple use; protection of wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death; and humane care and treatment of wild horses and burros.

§4700.03 Authority.
........ The Act of September 8, 1959 (18 U.S.C. 47); the Act of December 15, 1971, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1331-1340); the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1711, 1712, and 1734); the Act of June 28, 1934, as amended (43 U.S.C. 315); and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321, 4331-4335, and 4341-4347).

§4700.0-5 Definitions.
As used in this part, the term:
........ (a) Act means the Act of December 15, 1971, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1331-1340), commonly referred to as the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act.
........ (b) Authorized officer means any employee of the Bureau of Land Management to whom has been delegated the authority to perform the duties described herein.
........ (c) Commercial exploitation means using a wild horse or burro because of its characteristics of wildness for direct or indirect financial gain. Characteristics of wildness include the rebellious and feisty nature of such animals and their defiance of man as exhibited in their undomesticated and untamed state. Use as saddle or pack stock and other uses that require domestication of the animal are not commercial exploitation of the animals because of their characteristics of wildness.
........ (d) Herd area means the geographic area identified as having been used by a herd as its habitat in 1971.
........ (e) Humane treatment means handling compatible with animal husbandry practices accepted in the veterinary community, without causing unnecessary stress or suffering to a wild horse or burro.
........ (f) Inhumane treatment means any intentional or negligent action or failure to act that causes stress, injury, or undue suffering to a wild horse or burro and is not compatible with animal husbandry practices accepted in the veterinary community.
........ (g) Lame wild horse or burro means a wild horse or burro with one or more malfunctioning limbs that permanently impair its freedom of movement.
........ (h) Old wild horse or burro means a wild horse or burro characterized because of age by its physical deterioration and inability to fend for itself, suffering, or closeness to death.
........ (i) Private maintenance means the provision of proper care and humane treatment to excess wild horses and burros by qualified individuals under the terms and conditions specified in a Private Maintenance and Care Agreement.
........ (j) Public lands means any lands or interests in lands administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management.
........ (k) Sick wild horse or burro means a wild horse or burro with failing health, infirmity or disease from which there is little chance of recovery.
........ (l) Wild horses and burros means all unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros that use public lands as all or part of their habitat, that have been removed from these lands by the authorized officer, or that have been born of wild horses or burros in authorized BLM facilities, but have not lost their status under section 3 of the Act. Foals born to a wild horse or burro after approval of a Private Maintenance and Care Agreement are not wild horses or burros. Such foals are the property of the adopter of the parent mare or jenny. Where it appears in this part the term wild horses and burros is deemed to include the term free-roaming.

§4700.06 Policy.
........ (a) Wild horses and burros shall be managed as self-sustaining populations of healthy animals in balance with other uses and the productive capacity of their habitat.
........ (b) Wild horses and burros shall be considered comparably with other resource values in the formulation of land use plans.
........ (c) Management activities affecting wild horses and burros shall be undertaken with the goal of maintaining free-roaming behavior.
........ (d) In administering these regulations, the authorized officer shall consult with Federal and State wildlife agencies and all other affected interests, to involve them in planning for and management of wild horses and burros on the public lands.
........ (e) Healthy excess wild horses and burros for which an adoption demand by qualified individuals exists shall be made available at adoption centers for private maintenance and care.
........ (f) Fees shall normally be required from qualified individuals adopting excess wild horses and burros to defray part of the costs of the adoption program.

§4700.0-9 Collections of information.
........ (a) The collections of information contained in this part have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and assigned clearance number 1004-0042. The information will be used to permit the authorized officer to remove wild horses and burros from private lands and to determine whether an application for adoption of and title to wild horses or burros should be granted. Response is required to obtain benefits under 16 U.S.C. 1333 and 1334.
........ (b) Public reporting burden for this information is estimated to average 0.1652 hour per response. including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Information Collection Clearance Officer (783), Bureau of Land Management, Washington, DC 20240, and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project, 1004-0042, Washington, DC 20503.

[57 FR 29654, July 6, 1992]

SUBPART 4710-MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

§4710.1 Land use planning.
Management activities affecting wild horses and burros, including the establishment of herd management areas, shall be in accordance with approved land use plans prepared pursuant to part 1600 of this title.

§4710.2 Inventory and monitoring.
The authorized officer shall maintain a record of the herd areas that existed in 1971, and a current inventory of the numbers of animals and their areas of use. When herd management areas are established, the authorized officer shall also inventory and monitor herd and habitat characteristics.

§4710.3 Management areas.

§4710.3-1 Herd management areas.
Herd management areas shall be established for the maintenance of wild horse and burro herds. In delineating each herd management area, the authorized officer shall consider the appropriate management level for the herd, the habitat requirements of the animals, the relationships with other uses of the public and adjacent private lands, and the constraints contained in 4710.4. The authorized officer shall prepare a herd management area plan, which may cover one or more herd management areas.

§4710.3-2 Wild horse and burro ranges.
Herd management areas may also be designated as wild horse or burro ranges to be managed principally, but not necessarily exclusively, for wild horse or burro herds.

§4710.4 Constraints on management.
Management of wild horses and burros shall be undertaken with the objective of limiting the animals' distribution to herd areas. Management shall be at the minimum level necessary to attain the objectives identified in approved land use plans and herd management area plans.

§4710.5 Closure to livestock grazing.
........ (a) If necessary to provide habitat for wild horses or burros, to implement herd management actions, or to protect wild horses or burros, to implement herd management actions, or to protect wild horses or burros from disease, harassment or injury, the authorized officer may close appropriate areas of the public lands to grazing use by all or a particular kind of livestock.
........ (b) All public lands inhabited by wild horses or burros shall he closed to grazing under permit or lease by domestic horses and burros.
........ (c) Closure may be temporary or permanent. After appropriate public consultation, a Notice of Closure shall be issued to affected and interested parties.

4710.6

§4710.6 Removal of unauthorized livestock in or near areas occupied by wild horses or burros.
The authorized officer may establish conditions for the removal of unauthorized livestock from public lands adjacent to or within areas occupied by wild horses or burros to prevent undue harassment of the wild horses or burros. Liability and compensation for damages from unauthorized use shall be determined in accordance with subpart 4150 of this title.

§4710.7 Maintenance of wild horses and burros on privately controlled lands.
Individuals controlling lands within areas occupied by wild horses and burros may allow wild horses or burros to use these lands. Individuals who maintain wild free-roaming horses and burros on their land shall notify the authorized officer and shall supply a reasonable estimate of the number of such animals so maintained. Individuals shall not remove or entice wild horses or burros from the public lands.

SUBPART 4720-REMOVAL

§4720.1 Removal of excess animals from public lands.
Upon examination of current information and a determination by the authorized officer that an excess of wild horses or burros exists, the authorized officer shall remove the excess animals immediately in the following order.
........ (a) Old, sick, or lame animals shall be destroyed in accordance with subpart 4730 of this title;
........ (b) Additional excess animals for which an adoption demand by qualified individuals exists shall be humanely captured and made available for private maintenance in accordance with subpart 4750 of this title; and
........ (c) Remaining excess animals for which no adoption demand by qualified individuals exists shall be destroyed in accordance with subpart 4730 of this title.

§4720.2 Removal of strayed or excess animals from private lands.

§4720.2-1 Removal of strayed animals from private lands.
Upon written request from the private landowner to any representative of the Bureau of Land Management, the authorized officer shall remove stray wild horses and burros from private lands as soon as practicable. The private landowner may also submit the written request to a Federal marshal, who shall notify the authorized officer. The request shall indicate the numbers of wild horses or burros, the date (s) the animals were on the land, legal description of the private land, and any special conditions that should be considered in the gathering plan.

§4720.2-2 Removal of excess animals from private lands.
If the authorized officer determines that proper management requires the removal of wild horses and burros from areas that include private lands, the authorized officer shall obtain the written consent of the private owner before entering such lands. Flying aircraft over lands does not constitute entry.

SUBPART 4730-DESTRUCTION OF WILD HORSES OR BURROS AND DISPOSAL OF REMAINS

§4730.1 Destruction.
Except in an act of mercy, no wild horse or burro shall be destroyed without the authorization of the authorized officer. Old, sick, or lame animals shall be destroyed in the most humane manner possible. Excess animals for which adoption demand does not exist shall be destroyed in the most humane and cost efficient manner possible.

§4730.2 Disposal of remains.
Remains of wild horses or burros that die after capture shall be disposed of in accordance with State or local sanitation laws. No compensation of any kind shall be received by any agency or individual disposing of remains. The products of rendering are not considered remains.

SUBPART 4740-MOTOR VEHICLES AND AIRCRAFT

§4740.1 Use of motor vehicles or aircraft.
........ (a) Motor vehicles and aircraft may be used by the authorized officer in all phases of the administration of the Act, except that no motor vehicle or aircraft, other than helicopters, shall be used for the purpose of herding or chasing wild horses or burros for capture or destruction. All such use shall be conducted in a humane manner.
........ (b) Before using helicopters or motor vehicles in the management of wild horses or burros. the authorized officer shall conduct a public hearing in the area where such use is to be made.

§4740.2 Standards for vehicles used for transport of wild horses and burros.
........ (a) Use of motor vehicles for transport of wild horses or burros shall be in accordance with appropriate local, State and Federal laws and regulations applicable to the humane transportation of horses and burros, and shall include, but not be limited to, the following standards:
........ (1) The interior of enclosures shall be free from protrusion that could injure animals;
........ (2) Equipment shall be in safe conditions and of sufficient strength to withstand the rigors of transportation;
........ (3) Enclosures shall have ample head room to allow animals to stand normally;
........ (4) Enclosures for transporting two or more animals shall have partitions to separate them by age and sex as deemed necessary by the authorized officer;
........ (5) Floors of enclosures shall be covered with nonskid material;
........ (6) Enclosures shall be adequately ventilated and offer sufficient protection to animals from inclement weather and temperature extremes: and
........ (7) Unless otherwise approved by the authorized officer, transportation shall be limited in sequence to a maximum of 24 hours followed by a minimum of 5 hours of on-the-ground rest with adequate feed and water.
........ (b) The authorized officer shall not load wild horses or burros if he/she determines that the vehicle to be used for transporting the wild horses or burros is not satisfactory for that purpose.

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