News-Argus/Mitch Loeber

More than 80 wild horses and burros from the western United States were sold at auction Saturday and Sunday in Kenansville. Hundreds of horse lovers from across the state attended the event, held at the Duplin County Events Center. Geldings, mares and yearlings were part of the offering, culled from wild herds that live on lands maintained by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the federal Bureau of Land Management. Federal officials capture the animals to prevent overgrazing and try to find them homes. Since the program's start in the early 1970s, more than 200,000 animals have been adopted by private owners, with more than 3,300 finding homes in North Carolina.