Interior Secretary Proposes Prize for Improved Wild Horse Birth Control

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has identified the nation’s wild horse crisis as an “intractable problem.” During a recent appearance in Portland, she proposed that the government should offer a substantial prize to encourage drug companies to develop more effective birth control solutions for wild horses.

Jewell oversees the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which currently spends taxpayer dollars on removing wild horses from the range when the population in a given area becomes too large. Last week, the agency awarded two new contracts to spend $12 million on additional helicopter roundups of wild horses in the western United States.

At a news conference in Portland, Jewell addressed the issue, stating, “We’d love to have an effective birth control method. We’re thinking of sort of an ‘X-Prize’ type of thing to inspire the pharmaceutical industry to come up with an effective birth control method for horses.”

The BLM has administered birth control shots to a limited number of mares to prevent the birth of more foals. However, these drugs wear off, requiring repeated administration to make a significant impact on horse populations.

For more information, visit the Oregon Public Broadcasting website.