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 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, veterinarians, and the American public. Nearly 80 percent 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 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.