Save Wild Horses from BLM’s Abusive Practices

September 28, 2018

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been under scrutiny for its controversial practices regarding wild horses. These practices include tearing foals from their mothers, exposing pregnant mares to experimental surgeries, and selling federally protected wild horses without proper oversight. This year, the BLM has intensified efforts to remove wild horses from public lands.

Under the leadership of U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, the BLM has proposed several plans based on misinformation and questionable management practices. In May, the BLM revoked a policy protecting wild horses from being slaughtered for meat or hide. This policy was initially adopted after it was revealed that Colorado rancher Tom Davis illegally sold around 1,800 mustangs for slaughter.

The BLM's new plan to sell horses without restrictions consigns these animals to potential slaughter. The agency blames wild horses for landscape damage, ignoring the impact of millions of livestock. Recent footage of roundups shows foals struggling to keep up, helicopters driving mustangs into fences, and horses being run to death.

The BLM is also promoting the surgical sterilization of wild horses to control population growth. This involves a controversial procedure called “ovariectomy via colpotomy,” which is risky and cruel. Unlike companion animals, wild horses are not provided with sterile conditions or proper recovery time. The National Academy of Sciences advises against this surgery due to the high risk of infection and death.

Recently, Colorado State University withdrew from the BLM's planned sterilization experiments due to public pressure. Similar plans with Oregon State University were halted in 2016 after protests and legal challenges from wild horse advocacy groups.

Despite setbacks, the BLM plans to surgically sterilize 100 wild mares from the Warm Springs herd in Oregon. The experiment aims to measure pain levels and death rates, and assess how many pregnant mares will abort due to the procedure.

The BLM's sterilization proposals are mirrored in legislation passed by the House of Representatives. A rider added by Rep. Chris Stewart calls for mass sterilizations and the creation of “same sex” herds. However, the Senate has omitted similar language from its spending bill. Legislators will soon reconcile differences between the bills.

In a recent interview, Secretary Zinke stated that taxpayers spend over $80 million annually on a failing horse program. Addressing the tensions between ranchers and wild horse advocates requires reform based on respect for wild equines and public dialogue.

Originally posted by The Denver Post