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Act Now: Save Wild Horses from BLM's Cruel Management Plan

Dear John,

Under a misguided and precedent-setting plan, the Bureau of Land Management--the federal agency that manages most of America's wild horses--is proposing to dramatically reduce the number of iconic wild horses in Wyoming's "checkerboard" region, eliminate a large portion of their designated habitat, and employ dangerous fertility control methods to curb population growth.

Under the BLM's preferred management option, 2.5 million acres of wild horse habitat would be eliminated and an estimated 3,000 mustangs would be rounded up from the range and funneled into an already broken and fiscally irresponsible warehousing system. In addition, the BLM would likely surgically sterilize horses using outdated and inhumane methods such as the "ovariectomy via colpotomy" procedure, which the National Academy of Sciences explicitly advised against due to the risks of trauma and infection.

The BLM is aiming to "zero out" the Great Divide Basin, Salt Wells Creek, and White Mountain Herd Management Areas--meaning all horses would be removed and the designated habitat for wild and free roaming horses would be eliminated. Astonishingly, the BLM would also remove all horses from the famed Wild Horse Viewing Loop area--a popular tourist attraction. The BLM agreed to consider this course of action in a settlement agreement with the Rock Springs Grazing Association, a livestock industry group that manages a minority portion of private lands in the checkerboard region.

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What You Can Do
The BLM is accepting public comments until Thursday, April 30, on its draft environmental impact statement and management plan (DOI-BLM-WY-D040-2011-0001-RMP-EIS). Please visit eplanning.blm.gov ([link removed]) to submit your comments. Once on the site, click on "comment on document." We've included talking points below that you may wish to include in your comments to the BLM.

Thank you in advance for your help and for all you do for animals!

Sincerely,

Joanna Grossman, PhD
Equine Program Manager

P.S. Follow us on Facebook ([link removed]), Twitter ([link removed]), and Instagram ([link removed]) for other important animal protection actions and news.

Talking Points
* Wild horses are federally protected animals under the landmark Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The BLM is charged with preserving them on the range in their natural habitats, and protecting these animals from harassment and death.
* Roughly 3,000 wild horses would be permanently removed from the range and a staggering 2.5 million acres would no longer be allocated for wild horses; this sweeping reduction represents a loss of almost 90% of wild horse habitat in the region.
* Ovariectomy via colpotomy, one of the surgical sterilization methods the BLM would likely employ on some of these horses, is especially dangerous. The procedure involves inserting a metal tool through an incision in the vagina and then severing and removing the ovaries. The wild mares remain conscious during the invasive procedure and would receive minimal post-operative care. Numerous federal lawmakers ([link removed]) and veterinarians ([link removed]) have spoken out against this risky surgery, and a federal court enjoined the BLM from experimenting on wild mares using this procedure.
* Rounding up horses via helicopter drive trapping is inhumane. By the BLM's own admission, during a 2014 checkerboard roundup, several horses died after breaking their necks. Injuries and deaths occur routinely as a result of such helicopter roundups, during which horses are chased and driven to the point of extreme exhaustion.
* The BLM's plan, without any scientific justification, would funnel a large number of wild horses into an already unsustainable warehousing system that costs American taxpayers an estimated $50 million each year.
* The agency has failed to fully consider the negative impacts of removing all wild horses from the Wild Horse Scenic Loop--a popular and significant tourism draw in the region.
* The BLM is considering controlling horse populations by artificially manipulating the ratio of males to females. This suspect, unscientific approach could significantly affect herd dynamics and trigger aggression among stallions.
* The BLM should invest the additional $21 million that it received through the Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations process in implementing humane and scientifically proven fertility control methods--namely the PZP immunocontraceptive vaccine, which enjoys broad support and has been used effectively for decades.

Photo by Jay D'Ewart

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Animal Welfare Institute
900 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003
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The Animal Welfare Institute is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. We seek better treatment of animals everywhere: in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild.

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