Wild Horses: New BLM Director Called On To Stop Illegal Roundups
April 9, 2014Wild Horses: BLM Releases 2014 Roundup Schedule Devastating to Red Desert Wild Horses
July 11, 2014
A family heads to the waterhole
Two weeks ago I visited the Sand Wash Basin Herd in Colorado. I have been photographing the wild horses there since the disastrous roundup in 2008 when 11 wild horses died and I watched a wild mare being trampled underneath other horses who were being pushed into a horse trailer.
2008 Roundup Wreck
But now I am learning that the worst thing that can happen to the wild horses in Sand Wash is NOT a helicopter roundup. It is the BLM using bad science and making the herd a victim of a new and wholly unnecessary research study.
In April the BLM announced that it would be making up to 10 million dollars available in grants of up to 1 million dollars each for wild horse and burro contraception and sterilization:
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/melanie-hunter/blm-spend-10m-contraception-wild-horses-burros
In Sand Wash Basin, the AML or Appropriate Management Level of wild horses is 155-355 and Wendy Reynolds, the BLM Little Snake Office Field Director claims that there are currently 460 wild horses in Sand Wash plus 40 foals, and this was on May 29 at the Northwest Resource Advisory Council Meeting on May 29, 2014.
Brave’s family
As most of us know who follow these issues, nothing makes the BLM more frantic than hearing that a wild horse herd is over AML. It is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Despite the fact that the range is in fair shape given all the moisture this year and the extremely healthy condition of the horses, that is unacceptable to them.
Sand Wash Basin has leases for sheep grazing and the destruction that these huge groups of hundreds of sheep have caused over decades leaves the range in poor condition in many areas. But it is the overgrazing of sheep and not the wild horses that has caused and perpetuates this damage.
Hundreds of sheep
The destruction of the range
I met Jerome Fox at a popular wild horse waterhole called ironically, “Sheepherder” and asked him about his plans for this year for the herd. Jerome is the Wild Horse and Burro Specialist for the area and he is darting wild mares with PZP-22 birth control. I ask him isn’t this late to be doing this? What I have heard and read is that PZP-22 needs to be administered before breeding season, in January and in February as it is done on the wild horses in the Pryor Mountains and in McCullough Peaks in order for it to be most effective. He mentions that it is difficulty to access the range in winter. Honestly, compared to using the poor excuses for roads to get into the Pryors in the winter, accessing Sand Wash is a piece of cake.
A foal wakes up from his nap and looks for his mother
According to Jerome, this year they have darted 105 mares, he and volunteers from the Sand Wash Advocates Team.
This an increase over the number of mares that were treated during the Humane Society of the United States study that took place in Sand Wash Basin from 2008-2011, then continued in 2012 and 2013. In 2008 during the roundup, they treated and released 63 mares, but 123 horses were not gathered or treated. Also the foals of these mares that arrived the following spring were not treated. Instead they concentrated on reapplying PZP-22 to the already treated mares. The foaling rate decreased for individuals, but there was no population effect on the herd simply because not enough mares were treated. The BLM labeled the use of PZP-22 a failure. This information came from Allen Rutberg, PhD of Tufts University at the 2014 American Equine Summit in his aptly named talk called “Embracing Failure: Why the BLM will not use Fertility Control” http://www.equineadvocates.org/video.php?recordID=45
Stallions sparring, Hoot and Outlaw
Jerome Fox also told me that he wanted to capture horses this August using bait trapping and then offer the young one and two year old horses at an adoption in Steamboat Springs in September, but that he has not yet received any money – he is waiting on Washington DC and there is nowhere to put any more horses in holding facilities. I found it interesting that he was considering using bait trapping – two years ago I had emailed him and asked if they could use bait trapping in Sand Wash and he told me that it was 2x more expensive than doing a helicopter roundup. He also said that he planned to skew the sex ratio of the herd to 60% stallions and 40% mares because that was the only way to make using the PZP-22 effective. The normal percentage in a wild horse herd is about 50% stallions to 50% mares.
Ohitika’s colorful family drinking together at the waterhole
However, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the Sand Wash wild horses have much bigger problems than a roundup facing them. At the Northwest Resource Advisory Council Meeting on May 29, 2014 in Craig, Colorado, Wendy Reynolds, Filed Director the the Little Snake BLM office called for a resolution supporting the Sand Wash Herd for a pilot project to use chemical sterilization of stallions. This would involve shooting a stallion with a tranquilizer dart then treat him with a shot. Wendy says she has been in touch with Dr. Kirk Shiner of Windsor, Colorado who has developed a “chemical vasectomy” and that it would not change the stallion’s behavior but would render him sterile. I am not sure at this point if they would be doing chemical vasectomies or chemical sterilization. The “one shot” procedure she describes would be chemical sterilization not chemical vasectomies. The effects are different, and the administration is different – the chemical vasectomy requires the use of anesthesia, which could be very dangerous to wild horses done in the field. It may not affect behavior like chemical sterilization does but it has NOT been studied in horses, just in cats and dogs.
You can read more in the minutes of the May 29, 2014 meeting here: http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Resources/racs/nwr/minutes.html
A young colt behaving submissively with his father
I have done some looking into chemical sterilization and ironically, in the BLM’s own 2012 document:
Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program – a Way Forward in the section on chemical sterilization of stallions, it says “some or total loss of sex drive would be likely in treated stallions and this is counter to the often-stated public intent in maintaining natural behaviors in free-ranging horses.” This document also mentions that treated stallions, when losing the sex drive and aggressive instincts could lose their families to untreated stallions. This treatment renders the stallions permanently sterile.
Yearlings in Willie Nelson’s family mutually grooming
Wendy Reynolds wants to continue the PZP-22 darting program AND chemically sterilize the stallions. The assumption is that PZP-22 alone does not work. Therefore, let’s just turn the Sand Wash Basin Herd into a laboratory for random and dangerous research and do everything possible even if the treatment is untested. After all, the BLM is giving out grants for 1 million dollars.
Chrome’s family on the hill
The problem is not that PZP-22 does not work in Sand Wash Basin, it is that it has not been given to enough mares in the population at the right time of year. 105 mares is still not even half of the mares in the herd. Both the Pryor Mountain Herd and the McCullough Peaks Herds have had a very successful record in having their populations controlled because a much higher percentage of the mares are treated and they are treated in January and February, before breeding season. PZP-22 is proven, it works, there does not need to be any radical new testing of extreme measures on this herd, or any other wild horse herd.
Young colts practicing their stallion behaviors
What needs to happen to control the population of the Sand Wash Herd is very simple. Treat all the mares 1 year and over, and do it in January and February. Money should be allotted by the BLM to pay for PZP-22 and for people to be trained to give it and to administer it. They should not be relying only on volunteers, there are not enough of them to do the job. Put the money where it will do some good, rather than spend it on helicopter roundups or bait trapping removals, or new unproven ways to permanently sterilize stallions. PZP and PZP-22 are reversible, which is important if what you are aiming to do is to actually manage the population. You do not want to permanently sterilize the mares or the stallions – once you have your population goals achieved it is very important to keep in mind that you do not want to decrease the population so much that there is a lack of genetic diversity, and that the population goes into decline.
Heading to the waterhole
As Allen Rutberg put it, wild horses should be allowed to live on the range as freely as possible with as little meddling as possible.
Sterilizing herds is far beyond the scope of “management” that the BLM is mandated to provide for our wild horses. My concern is that once they sterilize one herd, the rest will follow.
Two older mares dozing together
And last, do not destroy the structure of the family bands by sterilizing the stallions. Many people, including myself, come to visit the wild horses of Sand Wash Basin because it is relatively easy to observe them and their behavior with their families and interacting with other wild horse families, which is a truly priceless opportunity. You can watch mares with their foals, the stallions protecting and defending their families, stallions fighting to win mares or to establish who is more dominant, the bachelor stallions playing, causing trouble and practicing their stallion behaviors, and the very best part of all is that these horses will allow you into their world. As I was sitting near Lookout Mountain two weeks ago with many wild horse families around me, napping, grazing, and gently interacting I realized that there can be no better place for me to be.
Picasso
Nancy Roberts has been following, documenting, photographing and educating people about the Sand Wash Basin Herd since 2009. Go to her excellent Facebook page to learn more about the herd: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sand-Wash-Basin-Wild-Horses/101181969939406?
For more information on the Sand Wash Basin Advocate Team go to their website here: http://sandwashadvocate.org/
Some further notes about Chemical Sterilization, PZP, PZP-22 and Chemical Vasectomies:
There is no reason or justification to do chemical vasectomies in the Sand Wash herd because:
1. the effects of chemical vasectomy have not been studied in the horses.
2. chemical will require anesthesia – dangerous and difficult procedure in field setting.
3. effective contraceptive efforts must be female-directed because even if just one intact stallion is present in a population he can impregnate multiple, multiple mares.
4. the efficacy and safety of Native PZP has been definitively documented with a history of use spanning more than two decades.
5. The BLM has deliberately confused mixed results of PZP 22 trials with documented efficacy of Native PZP.
5. The Sand Wash herd is a perfect population for use of Native PZP – members of the population are well known and individually identified, accessible for darting, and as you say, if they dart enough of the mare population, there is absolutely no reason that PZP cannot be used successfully in this herd. For the BLM to suggest otherwise, is blatantly ignoring science and misrepresenting the facts. There is no need or justification to resort to draconian measures, such as vasectomizing stallions using a procedure that requires dangerous anesthesia and which has not been studied in horses.
36 Comments
Thank you for this enlightening article – and the gorgeous photographs!
It would be very helpful to actually have the Minutes of the RAC meeting on May 29th. Unfortunately even after several call requesting an update the MINUTES have NOT been posted (This link only refers to the minutes coming in the future) therefore reference to the planned actions is not possible. Delays in proper records like this will make the chances of misinformation and mistrust more prominent. – Thank you Carol for looking into the details of the Sand Wash Basin issue.
Dear Gabriele,
Follow my link – the minutes to the May 29 meeting are up and you can read them there.
Here are the May 29, 2014 RAC minutes: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/co/resources/resource_advisory/northwest_rac/minutes.Par.68665.File.dat/RAC%20minutes%20May%2029.pdf
Are we all just banging our heads against a brick wall? (as the BLM undoubtedly IS)
These beautiful herds are just left at this agencies mercies. And frankly, mercy is something the BLM has none of. Is there no one left at the BLM who actually has some tiny bit of knowledge of the wild horses & burros? These morons have to be stopped. But HOW?
How to stop the BLMs craziness is my question, as well! They need to be managed, not the horses!!!
I meant the BLM IS the brick wall (didn’t sound like that).
Sorry – fingers moving faster than my brain…
What you are saying makes sense, which means the BLM will do the opposite. How do we fight this? I feel so helpless, what can I do to help?
Stay tuned Lori to my blog and Straight From the Horse’s Heart. There will be opportunities to comment and take action.
Carol I agree with you. I am with those horses two to the times a week. I can a count for no more then 250 to 300 horses. A lot of the ones that they are trying to count are out of the HMA. We hunt for the horses that have not been seen so we are all over the HMA. I have been doing this since the fall and winter of 2008. I have been in Sand Wash Basin when it was a -15, I know that it is hard to get in and out but it can be done. I have also seen all the Sheep that is turn lose on the range. The horses are not hurting the range at all. Their is a lot of food this year for all the horses and a lot of water on the north end and the little snake of the south east side for them to drink out of. I don’t see a need for a round up and I don’t see a need to Chemically Sterilize the Stallions, if you do that you will not have anymore wild horses when they die off. That will be sad, part of our America west will be gone for ever.
I just dont understand these beautiful horses have been here long before us all the talk of sterilizing stallions and did I read correctly that they want it 60% stallions if thats correct you can tell thats goverment why cant they cut down on the sheep population to help with the grazing they are terrible on fields and pastures. Horses have helped our military in the past they have been means of transportation way before our time oh my I could go on for days about this but there has to be some way to help with control of the herd with out all of this chemical trial and error testing as far as the round up are they close enough for cowboys and horses to do the round up like the old days a nice slow but steady pace without to may injuries and deaths.
I’ve decided to start meeting with Senators and US Representatives. Starting with Senator Maria CNtwell-WA, and Representative Derek Kilmer-WA. How about targeting ALL Senators…go with facts and data of current AS IS situation, then a list of proposed actions to begin reversing the bad decision-making. Initially I’m hoping to find someone who would be willing to launch an investigation into the management practices of the BLM.
I’m from Michigan and just e-mailed my senators to inquire if the BLM represents U.S. citizens, or just the ranchers who are destroying grazing land with multitudes of cattle and sheep.
Take the picture of these poor, helpless animals in that pen!!! That is disgusting and third world behavior of our government at work!!! It should be advertised what they are doing everywhere human,y possible!! It is reprehensible treatment of anything alive!!!
It’s fine to recommend a different time for administering PZP, however if you haven’t spent time in Sand Wash Basin in January and February, you don’t understand how brutal that time of year can be. Most main roads are covered by deep snowdrifts, and the tracks are completely inaccessible. The wind blows and howls unrelentingly with wind chills way below zero. I have spent a lot of time in the basin during those 2 months. So unless you plan on bringing in snowcats or some other type of vehicle that can break through deep snowdrifts, I’m not sure how you will find and access the horses.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the horses dearly in SWB and want only the best for them. I spend a lot of time in the basin and do understand that the population numbers must be managed in some manner. I’m of course against helicopter roundups, I’m ok with bait/trapping adopting out a few. In fact if they did that with 30-40 every year, the numbers would level out to keep the BLM happy.
If the drugs are being administered at the wrong time of the year to be affective, and there’s no way to get in the basin though it’s apparently possible to get into mountain ranges to do the job, something else needs to be done. False statistics because of wrongful administration does NOT help the herds in any way.
It sets them up for more drastic measures that could be avoided if the information collected and reported by the blm (and advocates) didn’t work off of assumptions.
It is possible to get into the range in the winter and early spring – I was there for 3 days this January and of course you have work with weather and road conditions but if you at least start on January and have enough people, you can hopefully complete darting most of the mares by the end of March. McCullough Peaks whic has a very similar terrain and weather they finish by end of February usually.
Excellent post Carol. Thanks for sharing this (infuriating) information.
Damn our arrogant, stupid, useless, idiotic government!! We NEED to STOP them, NOW, no, make that YESTERDAY!! The worse thing that just about ever happened to our American government, & our American values, is the “BLM”. They are single-handedly wiping out OUR wild American, native Mustangs, destroying OUR other native wildlife, &, OUR environment as well! It seems that no matter how hard everyone works, or protests, or how many letters & petitions are signed & presented, how many court battles are fought, “they” always get away with it, & win!Niceness just does NOT work, I don’t care what anyone thinks, doing everything by the books & all legal just does NOT work. By the time anyone who matters in politics actually takes the time to hear us, listen to us & act on our behalf, FOR OUR wild horses, it WILL be too late. The human population is the one way out of control, we need to sterilize everyone, after they’ve had no more than 1 or 2 children, no more, it should be mandatory. Get rid of all the invasive sheep & cattle, the wildness survived for ions before man, & well after man started interfering. We are NOT God, we were put on this earth to care for it & to be guardians of all life on it, not control & destroy at will. The wild horses of Sand Wash Basin mean a lot to me, & I’ve never been blessed to see them up close & in person. But their images & their lives are brought to me everyday through my Facebook photographers. They make me happy, they make me smile, especially the “icon” himself, Picasso, or Corona, & all the new spring babies, all of them. Why is it that we, the American people, can not put a stop to this, once & for all? If they want to sterilize or use contraceptives, when they are SUPPOSE to, just to help keep the herd numbers in check, without causing harm, & within reason, & do lod fashioned on horseback roundups to adopt out some of the young horses, then return the rest back to the wild, to their ranges, that would be acceptable. But not what they have been doing, or want to do, & not the way they’ve been doing things. The day there are no more “here & now” photos, but only distant memories, will be the day America dies!
Sorry, I meant, “do old fashioned on horseback roundups” 🙂
I have just seen a description of the chemical sterilization of the stallions, which should be carefully explained to the public. The shot is calcium carbonate into the testicles of the stallion, which causes a necrosis of the tissues of this very sensitive organ of the stallion. The sexual behavior of the stallion will subside with the destruction of the spermatozoa producing cells are destroyed by necrosis. I am not sure where the hormone testosterone is produced, but am assuming it is also blocked by the dedstruction of the testicles.
I feel in my heart, that this is a procedure which should NOT be allowed. I am sick to my stomach thinking of the thousands of stallions sent to Gunniston. Experimentation on animals is of the low by the low and here, carried out by people not willing to face the abuse the animals suffer.
My focus will be to end the domestic grazing on public lands.
What is important to understand with the necrosis is that the dead cells must be removed or there is a real danger of gangrene. The cells of the testicles do not die for a period of 30 days or so, depending on the vigor of the stallion. How does BLM intend to follow up with this medical procedure?
Excellent job Carol. I have forwarded your post on to many people. We can all only keep trying! Thanks for taking the time to explain so fully and as always…your photographs are exquisite.
How can i help make a difference for these beautiful animals????
How can i help????
Dear Barb,
You can help. Stay tuned to http://www.WildHoobeats.com and http://www.thecloudfoundation.org and http://www.wildhorsepreservation.org – we will keep you posted when the opportunity comes up to comment on this horrible plan – they cannot implement it without a chance for the public to comment, probably several chances. We will fight this.
Dear Carol,
I´m European. I´ve been exposed to the European ways in the Horse World.
In my country Sweden horses get a “Triangle Mark” as soon as they have any kind of injury…so that the owner can put it down and get the Insurance Money and buy a new horse with no injury….( CRUELTY and NO LOVE FOR HORSES )
In my opinion looking at Your Case:
Whoever is the BOSS at BLM is the one deciding all these horrible actions.
You need to ROUND HIM UP…and don´t hurt him…just have him CASTRATED…unless he CHANGES his cruel decisions or RESIGNS.
You need to start from the top in order to stop their agenda.
You are COWBOYS and COWGIRLS…what happend to “The Patriot” in your country?
Seemingly your country is already ruled by antichrist who has ruled Europe behind the curtains since the birth of Christ…the one that founded Hitler too. Oh yeah thats right…he is coming to “adress your Congress” in September too…
Anyway what I´m getting at here is that whoever is the boss of your BLM probably is a freemason or a jesuit.
Ok..so why do they want to get rid of the Mustangs? I can tell you why. This has been going on in Europe for many centuries now. I have been a WITNESS to the things they do. It all starts in Germany…” Selection of the Bestlooking Horses” and the horses all have to look in a certain way…and all the horses in Germany are all bred to a very few selected stallions…owned by the ELITE who have set the standards of what a horse should look like in their opinion.
Now Mustangs to them are “ugly horses that THEY don´t want to use in THEIR horseprograms” …and they ofcourse don´t want “Little people” to have any access to be able to go out and Catch a free horse either.
Their long term program is to get rid of ALL WILD HORSES and then BLM ofcourse is the owner of all of them already…they keep the best animals and kill the ones that don´t fit their standards.
Thau shall not kill.
But it said nothing about castrating in the Bible?
Sincerely,
I love ALL horses
is there a petition to sign against the BLM strategy? we need stop their barbaric ways of care of OUR AMERICAN HORSES!!! The BLM our MONSTERS
I think this plan of Craig Colorado BLM is so outrageous. This must not be allowed to ensue! The sheep devastate the ecosystem and then the wild horses are blamed for this, tortured and denied their natural place in the ecosystem, which is a healing place. This mad Frankensteinian approach to the wild horses must be exposed. I visited the Sand Wash Basin and its wild horses twice now, and they deserve a much greater share of the grazing resources than they are getting. The AML is a prescription for inbreeding and this sterilization program is a prescription for their die out! Good going, Carol, in valiantly standing up for them.
Pzp is not sterilization. It’s birth control, temporary and the least of the travesties theses horses endure.
Thankyou for this article! I’m elated others have worried over this “Grant” offering by the BLM! I made a comment when the BLM made the announcement in April the applications had been available for these grants since March, as to “Who is watching Our American Historical Wild Mustang Horses/Burros” when I read the BLM was offering 10 “Grants” for up to a 5 yr study on birth control of the wild horses to resolve the overpopulation issue the BLM claims exists . My concerns are the BLM is so desperate to destroy the last remaining Wild Horse/Burro herds they have resorted to offering grants of our public tax money to experiment on Wild Horses for new methods of birth control..Even tho they have been doing experiments with PZP for mares and sadly various steriization methods on stallions since 2009 ( google wild horse birth control)..My fear is they will offer the horses/burros in the permanent holding pens for these experiments! None of these horses are micro-chipped or have any permanent computer record. The grants do not specify these experiments have to have an equine veterinary oversee them. The wide range of people they have solicited to apply are not Equine specialists. It can be any Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde who states they have an interest in this grant from any where internationally. No one knows where the horses will be shipped for these experiments or what percentage of horse deaths/replacements are allowed in the experiments! The BLM has ingeniously concocted another cruel and inhumane way of removing and killing wild horses in the name of science….All of this is completely illegal. The public should have to vote on where our tax moneys are distributed when Grants of our money are offered for live animal experiments which in America…”Use of live animals for any experiments is illegal in most states
I believe!” I have not seen where the BLM have announced who has won these grants. They extended the application deadline from May 7th 2014 to I believe May 28th 2014. Clearly if they have made a statement concerning the Wash Basin Herd they have awarded grants and more in likely the BLM has already begun distributing horses for these experiments. Many times their 2 faced attitude is on 1 hand…Begin discussing an issue with the public by making suttle comments on the possibility of something being done to our American Wild Horses…2 On the other hand they are already doing horrible, cruel inhumane actions to the horses hoping advocates focus on the discussions and comments and they don’t send anyone to check up on the many horses being captured/already held.( I realize this requires helicopter/satellite surveillance to the many areas wild horses/burros are held as no public viewing of the captured horses is allowed at most holding pens) Until the BLM is forced to comply 100% to Americas Federal laws, until the BLM is forced to microchip every single Wild Horse by darting the free roaming wild horses/burros and applying the chip to the captive animals where a permanent public record of each horse is recorded, no one except the lying employees of the BLM will ever know how many horses they send to cruel inhumane tortures and deaths!
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Hi, I am working on an art of Picasso and his herd for a national competition my I copy some of your info to put on it? mainly the last bit?
You are welcome to use the information in the blog Loretta.
Today I wrote to Governor Polis in Colorado. I visited the Sand Wash Herd in June. Volunteers are taking great care of this herd. I also wrote Senator Mitt Romney in my state of Utah because the BLM took the Onaqui Herd in July. I was out to see them in May. Why can’t grants and money be raised in Colorado to purchase the land, have sanctuaries and/ or lease land from the BLM to keep them safe.
Here is property in Moffat County. Has the newspapers been contacted asking for donations besides the facebook websites no one sees unless you love horses. There are conservancies the land can be put into, organization to help raise funds, green belt to keep the taxes low. Is there an organization in Colorado working on raising money so these horse can be put on private land? Surely there are enough people to adopt and put the horse into a safe sanctuary.
$1,100,000
63322 W Highway 40 , Maybell, CO 81640
(Moffat County)
Available
$1,500,000
45020 CO-318 , Maybell, CO 81640
(Moffat County) 2,018 Acres
I don’t want to see this great herd destroyed. How can I help?
It is not just a matter of buying land. If you want a sanctuary you need fencing, water, pens, chutes, vet care, feed when the pastures are poor, people to run the place – ask any reputable sanctuary and it is a huge daunting exhausting labor of love that takes probably 3x what the land costs to run it. The horses need to be left on our public lands where they belong where they are not costing taxpayers billions of dollars. This is the fight. Governor Polis has no say in this. Congress needs to change what the BLM is doing, the power of the purse. Contact senator Hickenlooper and Senator Bennett. They key is getting media coverage and public pressure and make them do something about our wild horses.