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Tell Congress to Protect Wild Horses from Inhumane Sterilization Surgeries

Dear John,

The Bureau of Land Management--which manages the vast majority of our nation's wild horses--recently announced plans to surgically sterilize ([link removed]) wild horses in the Confusion Herd Management Area in Utah.

The procedure at issue--"ovariectomy via colpotomy"--poses a number of serious welfare concerns. It involves the manual insertion of a metal rod through an incision in the vaginal wall to blindly locate and sever the ovaries of wild mares while the animals remain conscious. The risks include evisceration, hemorrhaging, infection, and even death.

The recently released plan marks the agency's fifth attempt to ovariectomize mares despite significant opposition from lawmakers ([link removed]), veterinarians ([link removed]), and the American public. Nearly 80 percent ([link removed]) of Americans oppose the BLM's efforts to "manage" wild horse populations by conducting ovariectomies. The National Academy of Sciences has weighed in on this method as well, explicitly advising against performing ovariectomies due to the risks of trauma and infection.

In 2018, AWI stopped ([link removed]) the BLM from ovariectomizing horses as part of an experiment on a herd in Oregon. The agency sought to quantify mortality and morbidity stemming from the surgeries without providing independent observers an adequate opportunity to monitor the operation. Once again, the BLM is aiming to carry out this brutal and risky surgery hidden from public view.

TAKE ACTION ([link removed])

What You Can Do
Contact your members of Congress ([link removed]) and urge them to oppose the BLM's latest plan that would subject wild horses to this unsafe and inhumane procedure. Then forward this alert to family and friends and ask them to contact their legislators as well.

Thank you 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.

Photo by Brentawp

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Animal Welfare Institute
900 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003
(202) 337-2332 | www.awionline.org ([link removed])

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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