Unveiling the 'Path Forward' Plan: The Fertility Control Deception
March 24, 2020 - The 'Path Forward' plan, supported by organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and the ASPCA, claims to prioritize safe and humane fertility control for wild horses and burros. However, it downplays the plan's key component: the removal of up to 130,000 horses and burros from public lands over the next decade.
In reality, the 'Path Forward' continues the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) failed strategy of massive roundups and removals with minimal fertility control. The proposal lacks detail but clearly favors 'business as usual' roundups and removals, with sterilization of both mares and stallions on the table.
The Path Forward: More of the Same - Increased Roundups and Stockpiling.
Despite this, proponents convinced Congress to increase the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program budget by 25% — $21 million — last year, based on promises of a shift towards fertility control. According to David Phillips, author of Wild Horse Country, this is the third time Congress has increased the program's budget based on reform promises, only to see the BLM focus on roundups.
Roundups and Removals
Is the 'Path Forward' truly a fertility control plan as its proponents claim? The plan suggests rounding up 15,000-20,000 horses annually for the first three years, then 5,000-10,000 annually for the next seven years to reach the BLM's desired Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 26,690 wild horses and burros.
The plan justifies these numbers by stating that removals must be higher initially to allow fertility control to catch up with the population. This reveals the plan's reliance on roundups over fertility control, aiming to achieve the AML despite the National Academy of Science's (NAS) 2013 conclusion that these limits lack scientific support.
Additionally, the plan calls for a 70% to 30% stallion to mare sex ratio, which could cause social disruption and increased aggression among herds, impacting their welfare and natural behaviors.
Fertility Control
The 'Path Forward' acknowledges the BLM's poor record on implementing humane fertility control, noting that fewer than 4,353 horses were treated between 2012 and 2018. Yet, it excuses the BLM by citing limited tools due to logistics and controversy, contradicting the NAS's 2013 finding that existing tools could address many challenges.
While calling for annual roundups of up to 20,000 horses, the plan is vague about the number of horses to be treated with fertility control and when treatments will begin. According to Bruce Rittenhouse, Acting Wild Horse and Burro Division Chief, fertility control is not cost-effective while herds exceed AML.
Permanent Sterilization
The BLM includes permanent sterilization in its definition of fertility control, emphasizing surgical removal of mares' ovaries and castration of stallions. The NAS concluded these methods are inappropriate, citing risks of prolonged bleeding and loss of natural behaviors.
- “The possibility that ovariectomy may be followed by prolonged bleeding or peritoneal infection makes it inadvisable for field application.”
- “A potential disadvantage of both surgical and chemical castration is loss of testosterone and consequent reduction in or complete loss of male-type behaviors necessary for maintenance of social organization, band integrity, and expression of a natural behavior repertoire.”
Despite these warnings, the ASPCA, a major plan proponent, acknowledges that ovariectomy and castration could be part of the plan.
Rep. Chris Stewart, a vocal advocate, stated that Congressional funding would be used for mass sterilization.
Utah BLM Wild Horse and Burro Lead Gus Warr has stated that the plan will help implement surgical sterilization and create non-reproducing herds.
With extreme population reductions, sex ratio skewing, and sterilization, the plan could end America's wild free-roaming mustang and burro herds.
Definition of Insanity
Previously, Congress increased funding for the wild horse and burro program, promising reforms based on NAS recommendations. However, the BLM focused on roundups and removals, pushing the program to fiscal collapse and illegally selling horses for slaughter.
Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing repeatedly but expecting different results. This is the third time Congress has funded the program without seeing promised reforms. The 'Path Forward' could spell the end for America's wild free-roaming horses and burros.