BLM Consideration of Vaccine for Wild Horse Population Control

Advocates from the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) have urged the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to consider using a birth control vaccine to manage the wild horse population in Southeastern Oregon. This proposal aims to address the growing concerns over the current management practices and their impact on wild horse populations.

Proposal for Immunocontraception

Marika Ruppe, representing the American Wild Horse Conservation, presented to the BLM’s Southeast Oregon Resource Advisory Council the benefits of using the immunocontraception porcine zona pellucida (PZP) vaccine. This method could help maintain the population of 3,120 wild horses in Oregon. Ruppe's remarks were supported by 11,000 signatures collected in just four days.

Current Management Challenges

The BLM's wild horse and burro program, which involves culling herds and maintaining horses in government holding pens, has faced criticism. Reports have surfaced accusing the agency of selling horses to individuals who support slaughtering them for meat. Without intervention, wild horse herds can double in size every four years, potentially overburdening public resources.

“Everyone acknowledges that the current approach to wild horse management is broken,” Ruppe stated. “The stockpiling of 49,000 wild horses in holding facilities is unsustainable.”

Advocacy for Change

Ruppe also advocated for allocating more forage to wild horses within designated herd management areas, where up to 80% of grazing is currently used by privately owned livestock. Although wild horses were not on the official agenda for the RAC's meetings, the American Wild Horse Conservation used the public comment period to raise these issues.

Suzanne Roy, director of the American Wild Horse Conservation, noted that the RAC appeared open to discussing these suggestions, emphasizing the growing public support for keeping wild horses in their natural habitats.

BLM's Perspective

BLM spokesman Jeff Clark acknowledged the agency's involvement in developing contraceptive agents since 1978, with PZP being the most promising. However, administering it requires annual contact with mares, which poses logistical challenges. The vaccine can also be injected as a pellet lasting 22 months, but this requires capturing a large number of mares.

The American Wild Horse Conservation favors PZP over surgical spaying, which can alter wild horse behavior. Traditionally treated like livestock, wild horses should instead be managed as wildlife using the best available science.

Current Wild Horse Statistics

As of March 1, 2014, over 3,100 wild horses lived on the 17 herd management areas overseen by the BLM in Oregon, exceeding the approved management level by 15%. Nationwide, there are nearly 42,000 wild horses in the wild and another 49,000 in government holding pens.

For more information, read AWHPC comments and statement to the RAC here.