Labor of Logistics: Coordinating safe transportation for wild horses and burros across the United States

Over 95,000 wild horses and burros live on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. For those animals that leave the range and have been readied for the adoption and sale program, Meredith Kueck guides the complex process of moving them around the country, to reach new owners. She handles the logistics of animal shipping, planning routes to minimize stress on the animals and making more efficient use of taxpayers’ money. 

Often, they are transported cross-country, traveling with protections that come from BLM’s comprehensive animal welfare program, on trucks that meet high standards. Horses rest at least 8 hours for every 24 hours of travel, often stopping over in Elm Creek, Nebraska or Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.  “I tend to be very logistically minded,” said Meredith, “it’s very much like solving a puzzle to coordinate all of the pieces coming together. It’s not always easy, however, it’s so worth it knowing that our nation’s wild horses and burros are safely and comfortably transported every time.” 

View wild horses off-loading at the Bruneau Off-Range Wild Horse Corral Facility in Bruneau, Idaho