Wild horse advocacy groups are hailing an announcement by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to drop plans to conduct cruel surgical sterilization experiments on mares rounded up from the Warm Springs Herd Management Area in October 2018 and to focus instead on using humane fertility control vaccine for population management in the designated wild horse habitat area.
A winter BLM wild horse gather
BLM is dropping plans to conduct surgical sterilization experiments on mares to focus on humane fertility control vaccine for population management.
© 2018 by Nevada BLM
The BLM’s announcement -- made via the release of a Determination of NEPA Adequacy -- also indicates that the BLM intends to return a portion of the horses back to the range after removing 100 percent of the population in the mass roundup last fall.
“The BLM made the right decision to abandon these barbaric experiments and to return wild horses to the Warm Springs HMA, where they have a right to live in their natural habitat, protected under federal law,” said Brieanah Schwartz, government relations and policy counsel for AWHC. “It’s time for the BLM to focus on humane, publicly supported and scientifically recommended population management methods, such as the proven PZP fertility control to keep wild horses wild and free on our public lands.”
The American Wild Horse Campaign, Animal Welfare Institute, The Cloud Foundation and its Executive Director Ginger Kathrens, a member of the BLM National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, and photographer Carol Walker sued to stop the sterilization experiments, which involved performing an outdated surgical procedure, ovariectomy via colpotomy, described by veterinarians as unscientific, inhumane and dangerous.
In November of 2018, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to stop the federal agency from its cruel and controversial plans. The plaintiffs today said they are pleased that the BLM had dropped its plan to use the Warm Springs mares in the sterilization experiments. The plaintiffs also support the BLM’s decision to return captured mares and stallions to the Warm Springs HMA, although they believe that BLM’s imposed population limit (“Appropriate” Management Level) of 111 horses is too low for the more than 600-square-mile habitat area.
“The BLM’s decision to end its misguided ovariectomy experiments on wild mares in the Warm Springs HMA, and instead employ humane immunocontraceptive vaccines to curb population growth is a welcome outcome for these federally protected horses,” said Joanna Grossman, Ph.D., equine program manager for the Animal Welfare Institute.
“We are heartened that these wild and free-roaming animals will not be subjected to an invasive surgical procedure that would put their lives at risk. The agency should, however, return a significant number of the horses back to their range on public lands. With the proper use of PZP, their population can be kept in check.”
"We are pleased some mares will regain their freedom and will be managed humanely with PZP. However, releasing to the AML of 111 horses seriously endangers the genetic viability of this herd,” said Ginger Kathrens Executive Director of the Cloud Foundation and Humane Advisor to the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board.
“Leaving only one horse for every 4,000 acres is ridiculous but certainly not unusual and speaks to the unfair allocation of forage for our wild horses."
“Although I am relieved that the BLM will be releasing a small number of the wild horses removed in the roundup, I am very concerned about the fate of those who will not be released and face a very uncertain fate,” said Carol Walker, wildlife photographer, and Wild Horse Freedom Federation board member.
“Wild Horses and burros are always better off in their homes on our public lands where they belong.”
AWHC is a national wild horse advocacy organization whose grassroots mission is endorsed by a coalition of more than 60 horse advocacy, public interest, and conservation organizations. AWHC is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage.
The Animal Welfare Institute is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. AWI engages policymakers, scientists, industry, and the public to achieve better treatment of animals everywhere—in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild.
The Cloud Foundation is a Colorado 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, that grew out of Executive Director Ginger Kathrens' knowledge and fear for wild horses in the West. TCF works to educate the public about the natural free-roaming behavior and social structure of wild horses and the threats to wild horse and burro society, to encourage the public to speak out for their protection on their home ranges and to support only humane management measures. Kathrens serves as the Humane Advisor on BLM’s National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board.
Carol Walker is a renowned wild horse photographer who regularly photographs wild horses throughout the West, including those living in the Warm Springs HMA.
The plaintiffs in this case are being represented by the public interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP.
Press release provided by Grace Kuhn - The American Wild Horse Campaign