85 wild horses to make rare appearance in Charlotte area. The feds want you to adopt one
The Outer Banks aren’t the only place to see wild horses in North Carolina this weekend.
North Carolinians can gallop over to Monroe’s Simpson Center Thursday through Saturday for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s wild horse and burro adoption event.
“The Union County Parks and Recreation Department invited us into town,” Bureau of Land Management spokesman Hunter Paffrath said Monday. “They thought it’d be a good idea to come to the area (...) We’re very excited, and I know a lot of the local community is.”
There will be 85 wild horses and 10 burros available to view and adopt at the event. Adopting a wild horse or burro costs $125, and the animal goes home with you the same day.
Visitation hours will last from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Admission and parking are free, and a food truck will be available.
This is the first wild horse and burro event the Bureau of Land Management has hosted in the Charlotte area, according to Paffrath. The agency has hosted wild horse and burro events in Raleigh, Lake Waccamaw, Lumberton and Waynesville.
Adopting a wild horse or burro
Adopters must be at least 18 years old and have no record of animal abuse.
They must also have a corral fence at least 6 feet high for adult animals and 5 feet high for yearlings, with a minimum of 400 square feet of corral space per animal. The animals must have access to food, water and shelter.
Access to covered stock trailers with swing gates and sturdy walls for animal transportation is also required for adoption.
The Bureau of Land Management maintains the title to the animal for at least one year. In that year, the agency will monitor adopters to ensure they are taking proper care of the animal.
After a year, the agency’s adoption incentive program gives adopters the title to the animal and $1,000 if they have taken adequate care of it.
About the wild horses and burros
The wild horses and burros at the event this weekend were gathered from public lands in the Western U.S. by the Bureau of Land Management.
The agency determined the land could no longer provide sufficient resources, such as food and water, for the wild horses and burros and their competitors, such as elk, pronghorn antelope, mule deer and domestic livestock.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the days of the adoption event.
