Complaint Filed Over Plans for Sterilization Research on US Wild Horses

A challenge is being mounted against planned sterilization experiments to be conducted on wild horses through an Oregon State University (OSU) research project. The proposed research has the backing of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the federal agency charged with maintaining America’s wild horses.

Wild horse advocacy groups this week filed a formal complaint to halt what they described as barbaric sterilization experiments. The complaint from the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) and the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) was addressed to the BLM and the university’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, the university’s vice-president for research, and the Office of Research Integrity.

The groups initially presented the complaint last Wednesday at a public meeting of the BLM’s National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. They provided the board with video of the proposed procedure and statements from eyewitnesses and veterinarians who questioned the safety and scientific integrity of the experiments. They also presented the BLM with more than 21,000 comments from citizens opposed to the agency’s plans.

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