BLM to Begin Roundup and Dangerous Surgical Sterilization of Wild Horses

BLMIgnoresScience& Congress; Announces Plans to Begin Roundup & Dangerous Surgical Sterilization of Wild Horses in Utah

FILLMORE, Utah (November 24, 2020) . . . Amidst intense scrutiny and strong public opposition, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) yesterdayannounced its plansto move forward with the roundup and removal of wild horses living onpublic landsin western Utah. In response, the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) is calling foul on both the agency’s plan to capture and remove 500 wild horses from the Confusion Herd Management Area (HMA) in southwest Utah and its intent to surgically sterilize 17 wild mares in the first year using a dangerous and invasive procedure that veterinarians have called “barbaric.”

TheBLM’s announcement of the operation came less than a week after58 bipartisan members of Congress submitted a letterto Interior Secretary David Bernhardt calling on him to abandon the planned surgical sterilization of Confusion wild horses.

“It is irresponsible and a waste of tax dollars for theBLMto continue its business as usual approach to wild horse management with yet another dangerous helicopter roundup in Utah,” said Brieanah Schwartz, Policy Counsel for the American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC). “On top of that, it is unconscionable for theBLMto pursue the ovariectomy procedure while the scientifically recommended and cost-effectivefertility controlvaccine, PZP is readily available for humane management right now on the range.”

“We are committed to pursuing every available avenue -- including litigation -- to force theBLMto listen to science, Congress and the voice of the American people by protecting wild horses from this dangerous and unnecessary procedure,” Schwartz concluded, noting that AWHC and its coalition partners havepreviously filed successful legal actionthat has halted theBLM’s previous attempts to surgically sterilize wild mares in Oregon.

The procedure in question, known as ovariectomy via colpotomy, involves a veterinarian manually reaching into the mare’s abdominal cavity via the vaginal canal, blindly locating the ovaries then using a rod and chain device called an ecrasuer to sever and remove the ovaries. In 2013, the National Academy of Sciences concluded: “The possibility that ovariectomy may be followed by prolonged bleeding or peritoneal infection makes it inadvisable for field application.”

In addition to sterilizing wild mares, theBLM’s goal in the Confusion roundup is to reduce the wild horse population to 70 animals in a public lands area where 10,400 privately-owned cattle and sheep are permitted to graze. Despite recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences and against public interest, theBLMcontinues on a management path of roundups, removals, and placement of mustangs in taxpayer-funded holding facilities. Currently, the agencyspends 71% of its budgeton this strategy and less than 1% on safe and humane fertility control vaccines to curb population growth on the range.

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TheAmerican Wild Horse Conservation(AWHC) is the nation’s leading wild horse protection organization, with more than 700,000 supporters and followers nationwide. AWHC is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage.