BLM Cancels Plan to Surgically Sterilize Wild Horses

In a significant development, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has decided to cancel a research initiative that aimed to surgically sterilize over 200 wild mares at a facility in Oregon. This decision comes in response to legal challenges from advocacy groups who deemed the procedures unnecessary and inhumane.

The BLM announced on Friday that the decision was influenced by litigation that could have endangered the wild horses, BLM staff, and research partners by necessitating the presence of additional personnel or equipment in confined spaces. The agency's statement, released through its Portland office, emphasized the careful consideration behind this decision.

BLM spokesman Greg Shine stated that the agency had no further comments beyond the official statement.

Controversial Sterilization Methods

The BLM had planned to evaluate three sterilization methods to determine their safety and efficacy in controlling the wild horse population. Among these, the most contentious was a procedure involving the removal of ovaries from sedated, pregnant mares at various stages of gestation. This method required a veterinarian to reach into the mare's abdomen through the vagina to sever and remove the ovaries.

Legal Challenges from Advocacy Groups

The Cloud Foundation and American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign) filed a lawsuit last month seeking the presence of outside observers during the procedures. Additionally, Front Range Equine Rescue and Friends of Animals initiated legal action to halt the research planned at the Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines, Oregon.

Jennifer Best, assistant director of Friends of Animals' wildlife law program, stated, “The Bureau of Land Management is obligated to protect wild horses under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and has absolutely no authority whatsoever to experiment on wild horses with new and risky surgeries. Congress has expressly prohibited the use of funds for activities that would kill wild horses as this experiment may have done.”

Population Concerns

The BLM's research plan followed a population estimate indicating approximately 67,000 wild horses and burros roaming public lands across 10 Western states, a figure the agency considers more than double the sustainable level for both the animals and the rangeland.

Originally posted by WTOP