New Technology Could Revolutionize Humane Management of Wild Horses
February 22, 2021 - Instead of relying on the unscientific approach of mass helicopter roundups, the humane management of wild horses requires sophisticated methods that depend on fieldwork and on-the-ground knowledge of the horse or burro populations managed by a particular BLM district.
The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) aims to harness science and technology to advance the goal of humane management of these iconic animals. AWHC already runs the largest humane wild horse fertility control program in the world. Now, we’re excited to partner with WildMe, a non-profit that builds open software and artificial intelligence for the conservation community with the goal of protecting at-risk species.
Our goal is to develop an algorithm that will identify individual horses from photographs, greatly enhancing the efficiency of our fertility control efforts while providing a mechanism for accurate censusing and tracking of wild herds, using citizen science for data collection.
Currently, our Virginia Range fertility control program volunteers identify horses manually by photograph, based on our extensive database of more than 3,000 horses cataloged by color, markings, social affiliation, location, and other identifying features. This method works, as evidenced by our record of delivering over 3,000 fertility control treatments in less than two years. However, it is time-consuming. Having an algorithm that allows a volunteer to take a photo, run it through the software, and come up with the data file on that specific horse will make the process of identifying mares in need of PZP treatment much faster—something our volunteers, who are often in the field under punishing weather conditions, will greatly appreciate!
The research should be complete by June, and we should know at that time whether the algorithm (PIE) being tested will work for horses. We’ll keep you posted.