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Unedited Press Release from the BLM
The Bureau of Land Management and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have begun a five-year wild horse contraceptive study at the BLM’s short-term holding facility in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. The pasture breeding study will test the effectiveness of two formulations of the investigational contraceptive vaccine SpayVac® to determine if the treatment can reduce foaling rates in wild horse mares.
The goal is to see if SpayVac®, a novel formulation of a glycoprotein called porcine zona pellucida (PZP), will provide a longer-term effect than other PZP vaccines currently used by the BLM. If the vaccine is found to reduce foaling in this controlled setting, it will be considered for use with free-roaming horses to help control population growth rates on the range.
As the primary agency responsible for management of wild horses on U.S. public lands, the BLM has a need for a long-lasting contraceptive agent to control herd growth rates. Given the protection afforded by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and a general lack of natural predators, wild horse populations increase at an average rate of 20 percent a year and can quickly exceed the carrying capacity of their ranges.
The BLM, as part of its development of a new wild horse and burro management strategy, has been stepping up its efforts to reduce population growth rates in wild horse herds using contraceptive agents. A main limitation of the agents currently available is that they are of relatively short duration or need to be administered annually. Maximizing the duration of contraceptive effectiveness is especially important in wild horses, which in most cases must be captured in order for the treatment to be successfully administered.
In the BLM-USGS study, 90 mares have been treated with either one of two formulations of the vaccine or a placebo. The mares will be followed for five years to measure anti-PZP antibody levels and compare the foaling rates between treated horses and controls. Although breeding is not usually allowed to occur in BLM facilities, a clinical trial in this controlled environment will provide critical information on how well SpayVac® works as a contraceptive.
The mares and stallions enrolled in the study were selected from horses already in BLM holding facilities. They are being housed in three 30-acre pastures and will be together during the next five breeding seasons. Foals that are born during the study will be offered for adoption each fall after they have been weaned. At the conclusion of the study, all adult horses will be returned to the BLM’s Adopt-A-Horse Program or placed in long-term pasture facilities.
The BLM has an interagency agreement with the USGS for research and scientific support, and this study is a collaborative effort with scientists from the USGS, veterinarians with the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and TerraMar Environmental Research LLC.
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
These people make me sick, Cart before the horses…………………………When i think of how many needless deaths of the Innocent Mustangs and their foals and families………………………………… all caused by the BLM and their stupidity……………
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What the hell does the USGS know about birth control??
“Given the protection afforded by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and a general lack of natural predators, wild horse populations increase at an average rate of 20 percent a year and can quickly exceed the carrying capacity of their ranges.”
Well stop killing off the wolves and big cats an there would not be a problem/
What a bunch of dumb asses!
I am tired of being asked to pretend that Stupid is a virtue.
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A study has ALREADY been done. The link won’t post here, but the study can be read on the Cloud website:
Comments re: PZP Use in the Pryor Mountains of Montana
September 2, 2010
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Applied Animal Behaviour Science
journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/applanim
Immunocontraception decreases group fidelity in a feral horse population
during the non-breeding season
Cassandra M.V. Nun˜ez a,*, James S. Adelman a, Carolyn Mason b, Daniel I. Rubenstein a
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A study has already been done:
Click to access nunez-et-al-2009-immunocontraception-decreases-mare-fidelity.pdf
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Applied Animal Behaviour Science
journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/applanim
Immunocontraception decreases group fidelity in a feral horse population
during the non-breeding season
Cassandra M.V. Nun˜ez a,*, James S. Adelman a, Carolyn Mason b, Daniel I. Rubenstein a
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That study has already been done and it is very conclusive. The link won’t post here, but the study can be read on the Cloud Foundation website..Sept. 2, 2010:
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Applied Animal Behaviour Science
journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/applanim
Immunocontraception decreases group fidelity in a feral horse population
during the non-breeding season
Cassandra M.V. Nun˜ez a,*, James S. Adelman a, Carolyn Mason b, Daniel I. Rubenstein a
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That study has ALREADY been done:
Comments re: PZP Use in the Pryor Mountains of Montana
By thecloudfoundation
The Cloud Foundation’s Comments to BLM’s proposed 5 year extension to infertility drug use in Cloud’s herd. The drug is currently causing social unrest and disruption to the fundamental social order of the family bands in this unique and historic wild horse herd: Pryors PZP use Scoping Comments (+ exhibit 1: Immunocontraception decreases group fidelity in a feral horse population during the non-breeding season C.M.V. Nunez et al. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 117 (2009) 74–838182.
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Here is the link for the study:
Click to access nunez-et-al-2009-immunocontraception-decreases-mare-fidelity.pdf
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Yes, they already have data on Spayvac. The thing that troubles me most is that I’ve read a single dose can render some mares sterile for up to 7 years and a second dose is permanent. Maybe they’re trying to figure a way to make a SINGLE dose permanent? Is the HSUS part of funding the new study, as they were previously? Will they control the supply?
I have the BLM criteria for a contraceptive somewhere, and it reads as if it was specifically written to eliminate GonaCon, which was part of the initial study (Spayvac, GonaCon, IUDs). Mares continue to ovulate and be bred with Spayvac. GonaCon supresses/eliminates ovulation, but mares return to reproductivity sooner. Is that why it’s no longer being considered?
This is a USDA/APHIS Factsheet on GonaCon. It’s been approved for use on deer in New Jersey, and possibly Maryland, because it’s been PROVEN to work the best for controlling populations with as little harm to the animals as possible.
Click to access faq_gonacon.pdf
According to the New Jersey Ledger, September 18 2007, Spayvac didn’t work on deer:
“Deer Contraceptive Fails in Jersey Test” by Brian Murray
“SpayVac seemed to be the answer and the state allowed a test program this year after an early version of the vaccine used at Penn State University three years ago showed promise. Despite regular mating, none of the test deer in that experiment has become pregnant. The drug’s failure in New Jersey and Ohio, according to company officials, resulted from a change in the manufacturing process needed to meet the federal Food and Drug Administration’s sterilization standards.”
So what has been “changed back”, and does the form of Spayvac being tested again fail the FDA’s standards? Since they’re only “feral” horses, do the FDA/BLM even care?
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I read the same artical on Spay-Vac. It will stearlize our horses! No more test need be done! PZP-22, if used on the same animal over & over will also stearlize!
This has to be stopped. I can see use ONCE IN A WHILE BUT NOT ALL THE TIME!
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Thank You Louie , I have watched the Video that the Maker of the PZP has on line , many times………………….
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Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions was on the other day. I suppose the mountain lion that took the foal called Dusty was a hallucination, the guy in the trailer who heard the cat screaming was having a nightmare and the pawprints were a collective delusion?
And what about the fact that some of those mares had already been darted, were affected long after it was to wear off and others were foaling out of season?
If they think we’re crazy bleeding hearts I shudder to think what there definition of sane might be.
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Although darting is going to take place and it may have been tried some years back most of the Pryor mares have been given the two year form of PZP at roundups. This is applied under the skin on the hindquarter. That is why the younger of them may have been made sterile by this form and why others have taken 2 to 4 or more years to be able to conceive again. I know this is not exact but it is off the top of memory.
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As shown in this study, there is GREAT DANGER to the Herd social structure, which is the very core of Wild Horse viability…the very existence of these Wild Herds
Immunocontraception decreases group fidelity in a feral horse population
during the non-breeding season
Cassandra M.V. Nun˜ez a,*, James S. Adelman a, Carolyn Mason b, Daniel I. Rubenstein a
a 106A Guyot Hall, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1003, USA
b Foundation for Shackleford Horses, Inc., 306 Golden Farm Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
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The BLM has shown their total disregard for The Wild Mustangs over and over again ,to willful murder and maiming….. never expect any remorse or any attempt to right their wrongs(which are prosicutical) from a corupt institution………….
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They may call us whatever they want to, the fact remains loud and clear, They are committing illegal criminal acts that is punishable by LAW>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.against the Protected American Wild Mustangs……………
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Louie, the stuidy you sited was not for the Pryor herd, but for one back East. However they truly refuted earlier studies that said there was no affect on the herds social integration. The damn drug completely ruined the internal structure of the “harems”
Unfortunately the BLM and the “Geological” ?????? survey do not care about that. They are only interested in the fact that it may keep the mares infertile for years.
ENOUGH ALREADY. LEAVE OUR WILD ONES ALONE. Bring back the predators.
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Great, now the BLM is going to destroy the gene pool and create 3 legged malformed, unwanted horses? What next? Sounds like something Hitler would do
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Have you ever known the BLM to actually do anything good for the HORSES? They are on a mission to destroy the Wild Mustangs and must be stopped……………….They care zero about the Mustangs ………………They are inhumane ansd are Hitler like……………………They and they alone have createds a Wild Mustang Holocaust If anything needs to be remove its the BLM>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>. Yesterday isnt soon enough………………..
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Ken Salazar is Hitler and Bob Abby is the Exterminator. These people are idiots and when they are in charge not good can come of it. What does the USGS have to do with Behavior or wild mustangs, or veterinary issues, population counts if any? You cant trust government any more. They just keep screwing up everything that isn’t broken.
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Really imposible for me to believe the BLM/USGS can conduct a proper scientific investigation with all the extremely stupid and sloppy practices we’ve seen so far. Bloody Hell !! What a waste of breathe those people are !
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Exactly my thoughts. They are not competent to administer long acting contraceptive controls. Knowing them, they will do the same horses over and over due to lack of any record keeping and scientific protocol. I am for short term birth control if it keeps the horses roaming free, but this seems to be way too risky.
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These idiots are CRAZY!! Keep playing God, keep messing with “Mother Nature”, I hope I’m here to see them get “paid back!!” And, I don’t mean that in a good way! I’m not any expert, but, from all I’ve heard, read, or otherwise learned, concerning “controlled contraceptives” on wild horses, is, it SCREWS them up! Many times, they end up having foals way too late in the season, meaning many won’t make it through the winter, which probably, IS their “plan”, I guess that’s one way to ensure controlling the wild horse population!! This is also a disgusting & deceiving way to get the general public to support them, all for the supposed “well-being” of these wild horses!
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We have no say! BLM/USGS are doing something experimental and all I have heard about Spay-vac is it will make them sterile! Where is the source of that conclusion coming from? Does anyone know??
Our inability to reach BLM and negotiate with them has led all of us a long and difficult road strewn with the bodies of wild horses in and out of captivity. This is all off the wall. If BLM wants the herds managed with a birth control agent then allow the locals and advocates to begin sensible, one year PZP darting on chosen individuals and older mares on the range. They want to sterilize all the mares now and they will do this if they are not stopped.
No studies should be adhered to if they are done without outside, independent, side by side data! A Government study is an ‘inside job’ and not what the ’71 Act says should be done; outside and independent study! There have NEVER been outside independent studies! I say stop all the so called studies being done now. They are all inside jobs and have no business being put into management policy at anytime, ever! This is another bad move and is taking the management of these horses further from Humane Management and will continue to the doom of our herds.
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Margo I think its the Assateague Ponies on the Maryland side–not the Chincoteague Ponies that they use SpayVac on.
They let the mares have 3 babies–whether it lives or dies is irrelevant. At that point the mares are permanently spayed with this vaccine.
Good Lord above what is happening with that NAS thing???
BLM==Management to Extinction. That should be on all our vehicles.
It’s just not enough for the Feds to take my job now they have to mess with my horses. This is just so not right.
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Thanks Margaret, I did think it had been used and all I ever heard was it was permanent… this study needs to be cut short. It is not about management it is about negative population control and you cannot do this with Wild animals. But science has continued to be the loser in Congress and the various agencies. BLM cannot do studies that have no independent parallel.
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Margaret–you are right that the Chincoteague ponies on the Virginia side are not on birth control–the foals are sold at the Annual Pony Penning.and belong to the Chincoteague Fire Company. They have a permit from USFWS for 150 adult horses on the south end of Assateague Island.
The Maryland side of Assateague Island is where the herd is that Dr.Jay Kirkpatrick annually darts with PZP, not SpayVac.. Each mare has several foals in their life time and most of the mares are living much longer.
I agree that the western mustangs are being used as guinea pigs in these trials–not what was intended in the Wild Horse and Burro Act.
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From BLM FAQs page;
SpayVac™ is an experimental fertility control vaccine using PZPantigens. A single vaccination with SpayVac™ has maintained a high level of contraception throughout the 4-year Nevada estray horse study. There is no regulatory approval for the management or investigational use of SpayVac™ through EPA or FDA. There is no SpayVac™ available for investigational use and no one is currently making it. Data is not available that describes the impact of SpayVac™ on the behavior and physical health of the mares. SpayVac™ may have potential for use as an effective, longer-lasting fertility control agent in the future. It may also offer an alternative to spaying mares in the future. However, additional research over the next 5-10 years would be needed before it could be used on a population-management basis.
If this is the equivalent of Spaying mares it must not be used at all. What are we being forced to accept here?? It is always forced on the horses and we are not here to let this bad management dribble away the lives and productivity of Our Last Wild Horses!
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A little more Digging… Spay-vac was used at Sheldon Wildlife Refuge in a BLM funded study where 3 out of 30 horses died and this was an acceptable number; 10% death rate!
THIS STUDY HAS BEEN DONE. THIS IS PADDING BLM POCKETS!
This study is total manure.
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Aaahh a breeding program in the hands of BLM. This should be a wonder to behold given their record of taking care of horses. So now they’re into genetics? and lineage? and they’ll only breed as many as they can predict will be adopted and there will be no excess horses? and the horses free on what’s left of the range will be sterile? and what will happen to the 40,000 in LTH? and we’ve seen the unrest in the Cloud herd, and foals born at the wrong season. Any one want to trust this? What a shame. Truly, it’s not the horses that are out of control…….
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Never was the horses out of control… BLM land grabbing is out of control, etc. I doubt that BLM would attempt to do any of these things for real except what will whittle down numbers on the range in the future.
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Another way to leach some more Government money out of our Wild Horses
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Excerpts from AMERICAN HERDS:
http://americanherds.blogspot.com/2010/10/similar-vaccine.html
Saturday, October 2, 2010
A Similar Vaccine
Recently, I have seen some interesting new trends developing in BLM wild horse & burro proposals.
While certainly not as horrifying as the recent discovery at Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge of scattered horse bones, a mass grave or the terrifying events experienced by the courageous Leslie Peeples, the ramifications of these trends are certainly disturbing.
What does “similar” vaccine mean?
According to two BLM internal reports generated in 2008 and obtained by advocates under the Freedom of Information Act, the BLM’s Team Conference Calls (July 2008) and Alternative Management Options (October 2008), wide spread sterilization measures were aggressively explored throughout as is also now included in Salazar’s proposed new direction for the Wild Horse & Burro Program.
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We must without further delay demand that our Government conduct an unbias account of the herds…………………….This is their right by LAW………….. The rights we gave to them in the Roam act 1971……………..Therefore it is our responsibility to remedy this , and get that Act reinstated………………….We must Get this done ………………… In even sooner then 10 years they will have eradicated every Wild Mustang…………………………. We will ever see them again……………..We cannot let this happen…………………. And I have said it before the BLM is making sure that there will be no Phoenix to rise from the ashes that is their Ultimate Goal……………..
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I didn’t even read this whole thing.
ISN’T SPAY-VAC LIKE PERMANENT????
Gee, once again BLM is sticking there heads up there hindsides and showing everyone just how stupid looks.
How sad that the USGS got involved with Kennie Salazoo and Bobby boo boo Abbey.
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Using our wild horses as guinea pigs–again. And AGAIN, where is the HSUS and why aren’t they protesting this experimenting on animals as Wayne Pacelle so strongly speaks out about on his current book tour? Does he mean it’s OK to experiment on the wild horses? WHY is the HSUS not strongly and loudly protesting this and exercising their considerable clout/lobbying power?
If anyone reading this is in Seattle, Portland, Eugene, San Diego, LA or in FL, please go to his signing and ask WHY the HSUS is NOT coming down on the Am. govt.’s abuse of wild horses the way it is on the Canadian gov.t’s abuse of seals–same issue, different governments–what’s the deal??? Don’t let him sidestep answering the question–he is very adept at this and will no doubt try–if/when he does, ask again, and again. and again….
Link to WP’s book tour schedule: http://www.humanesociety.org/about/events/the_bond/the_bond_book_tour.html
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“‘WILD HORSE FOUNDATION’ ™
A Former BLM Director thought it was important to have this sent back out.
HSUS, Humane Society of the Untied States uses WILD HORSES AS TEST RATS for there experimental guinea pigs for the drug PZP.!
The very people who want to stop the monkeys testing, rat testing and all other animal experimental testing USES WILD HORSES FOR THERE FINANCIAL GAIN.
MAYBE SOME WILL FIND THIS REPORT INTERESTING……. I Like page 29 and 30 and who said the tail doesn’t wag the dog… I find it better informative that the Pryor Mountains wild horses were rushed to be removed as they were part of this experiment so that the long term effect could not be seen. No where does this talk about the long term effects as we have seen it with wild horses here at the WHF….’
Put … hsus HORSES pzp……in your search…….
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Ann –Do you have a link to “that report” that is alluded to in your post?
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Thanks, Nancy! Here is the list. If you can attend, this is an opportunity to ask critical questions: WP just posted an anti-slaughter blog that says there will be more action to follow relating to slaughter, but this is a great opportunity to get critical information on the Mustangs. I read that locations are added when they get confirmations.
Thursday, April 28
7:00 – 9:00 pm PDT
Powell’s Books (Cedar Hills)
2720 NW 29th Ave.
Beaverton, Ore.
Friday, April 29
11:30 – 1:00 pm PDT
Portland City Club
901 SW Washington St.
Portland, Ore.
Friday, April 29
7:00 pm PDT
Barnes & Noble
1163 Valley River Center
Eugene, Ore.
Sunday, May 1
3:30 pm PDT
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
University of Southern CA, 3551 Trousdale Pkwy.
Los Angeles, Calif.
Tuesday, May 3
Spreckels Theatre
San Diego, Calif.
Friday, May 6
7:00 pm EDT
Books A Million
200 N. Entrance Rd.
Sanford, Fla.
Saturday, May 7
4:00 pm EDT
Books A Million
33550 US 19 North
Palm Harbor, Fla.
Sunday, May 8
2:00 pm EDT
Barnes & Noble
4010 S. Tamiami Tr
Sarasota, Fla.
Monday, May 9
6:30 – 8:30 pm EDT
Books & Books
265 Aragon Ave.
Coral Gables, Fla.
Thursday, May 12
7:00 pm
The Bookmark
220 First Street
Neptune Beach, Fla. 32266
Saturday, May 14
5pm CDT
Barnes & Noble
Tyler, Texas
Sunday, May 15
5pm CDT
Barnes & Noble
Houston, Texas
Tuesday, May 31
7pm EDT
Barnes & Noble
Baltimore, Md.
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Thanks Christy for posting the list of where Wayne will be signing his new book.
I hope some folks can ask him about the PZP and his involement.
I also hope a video of his comments becomes available.
I sure would love to hear his response!!
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Christy–
Thanks for posting the WP’s book tour schedule list…I assume you were addressing everyone when you said “if you can attend” and not just me, since I’m the one who started this whole book tour question asking campaign.. :-))
The critical re: the wild horses and burros that he has been avoiding answering is :
“Why isn’t the HSUS coming down hard on the US govt.’s abuse of wild horsesIN HOLDING as it is on the Canadian govt.’s abuse of seals?”
This is critical because he is BIG on slamming the Canadians for the seal situation, yet has not come out and said one thing about the abuse of wild horses in short term holding–and some of us have spoken directly with HSUS personnel about this and their answer is always “everything checks out fine,” and we have proof that that’s a lie.
He will try to go into a song and dance about how the HSUS has come out against the roundups (he doesn’t say that it’s always at the 11th hour and then very weakly)…don’t let him get away with that. Preface THE question with “I’m not talking about the roundups per se”–that should close that one door.
Keep asking the question if he still doesn’t answer (and ask multiple times in the same session if he continues to avoid the question)..I’m sure he has devised advanced ways to evade answering as it’s become common knowledge that this is the plan (an advocate in AZ posted it to the wall of the HSUS’s state director, so now he has been forewarned). Several of us on both the west coast and the east got to confront him before the plan was published–he was surprised to find so many people asking about the wild horses. Guess he thinks all people care about is dogs and cats.
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When I got wind of this I had thought you wanted to have small protests at all these venues. It does not matter if he is prepared or not. HSUS has avoided all the pertinent questions on the the roundups and holding facilities. Pre-roundup losses and foal loss during roundups and at STH has not been addressed. There are dozens of questions they need to answer. They have behaved little differently than BLM when confronted. Their half-assed support of the moratorium has dwindled away. There is no dialogue and we need that. We are the same people who gave them support for decades. Many have stopped this support as they have learned more about them and their connection to BLM and PZP. It would have been nice if they had worked with us to pressure BLM for change. Their insincerity is getting the best of them now as we see right through the inadequate responses they have continually thrown our way. It won’t do, Wayne P!
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Marge–
The point in asking Pacelle THE question in public is to let other people know the duplicity of his/HSUS’s stance. I know we know. It’s not for our benefit.
It’s a way to inform the adoring masses that the HSUS is not doing what they should be for the wild horses–given they claim to be and to be doing.
I have asked the question–or rather, told one of Wayne’s underlings in Wyoming (the HSUS person in charge of wild horses, Heidi Hopkins–that we know HSUS has monetary interests in selling PZP to the BLM. I have it in writing (not that that means anything except that they can be better caught in the lie) that they don’t make any money on the PZP that goes to the BLM–if this is true in any way, it’s in a particular wording…again, this is not the point. We know this.
Again–the point is to make him come up with an answer to explain why he is not holding the Am. govt. to the same standard as the Canadian govt.–ESPECIALLY because he goes on & on about the Canadians and the seals, but never mentions our own wild horses and what our govt. continues to do to them.
There are lots of questions he could/should be asked, but this one puts him where we want him–if it’s asked correctly (see the wording in my earlier post) because it backs him into a corner of his own making that is also relevant to what he has just expounded on in his book tour speech…other people need to know and this is how to let them see for themselves. These questions are not for us–they are to inform others–see what I mean?
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Just a show of how experimenting can be done to horses and it won’t be effecting someone’s expensive jumper EH?? Absolutely wonderful..RIGHT ?? If it fails, no one will be any the wiser..Just a unknown reason why them Mustangs are dying.. if it works; it also eliminates any new mustang stock on the range.. I’ve said it along while back on these pages.. The mustang is being used for the goverments exploytations..and in the end will be run to extinction..once the experiment proves up in a year or two. Then the deathruns will be shutdown due to ALL the public outcry and expenses of gathers and holding them..(till they can ship them thru the unadoptable clause)..The BLM has always been known to be the scape goat but there are others in the back ground..with far more sinister reasons than cow grass..far more..
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to Nancy I put “HSUS horses PZP” in my search bar–but notice that the info is from the group Wild Horse Foundation. Hope this helps.
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wildhorsefoundation.org/PZP%20IUD%20WILD%20HORSES.htm Oh so that’s how you do it!
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I remember watching a video where Dr.Kirkpatrick was talking about how to use PZP to control Wh numbers and I believe he was talking about horses in the Pryors. He said that it was important ant for each mare to have at least one foal to contribute to the gene pool before being treated.
Also,getting back to the BLM partnering with USGS. If you remember the Ig’s report that came with the memo that chastised Interior and its agencies with exception of USGS for not using policies of scientific integrity. In the report (which I saved on my computer) USGS has high marks is all areas covered in the review of scientific integrity policies. I think the USGS is involved in seeing that the study is designed in such a way that even if the results are questioned, the experiment itself will meet basic standards and scientific purposes.
But listen to us. Not one person trusts the BLM to do anything competently or without bias. An agency that has such low trust from the people who are paying attention is in trouble. WWP is exposing their practices regarding cattle grazing.
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Notice this sentence..BLM, USGS AND the DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE are in on this. They are intending to PURPOSELY BREED them IN CAPTIVITY in order to lower the birth rate?
“Although breeding is not usually allowed to occur in BLM facilities, a clinical trial in this controlled environment will provide critical information on how well SpayVac® works as a contraceptive”
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USGS = oil, gas and mining.
HSUS = $$$ at the expense of the Mustangs and Burros.
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Nancy I think most of us know why Wayne avoids talking about the Mustangs.
HSUS holds the patented rights to the PZP and is making money from each and every mare that is injected.
What needs to be asked is just how much money the HSUS is making.
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Marge–Sorry…I posted my response to you in the wrong place..I’ll copy and paste it again here–sorry, everyone, for the repeat.
Marge–
The point in asking Pacelle THE question in public is to let other people know the duplicity of his/HSUS’s stance. I know we know. It’s not for our benefit.
It’s a way to inform the adoring masses that the HSUS is not doing what they should be for the wild horses–given they claim to be and to be doing.
I have asked the question–or rather, told one of Wayne’s underlings in Wyoming (the HSUS person in charge of wild horses, Heidi Hopkins–that we know HSUS has monetary interests in selling PZP to the BLM. I have it in writing (not that that means anything except that they can be better caught in the lie) that they don’t make any money on the PZP that goes to the BLM–if this is true in any way, it’s in a particular wording…again, this is not the point. We know this.
Again–the point is to make him come up with an answer to explain why he is not holding the Am. govt. to the same standard as the Canadian govt.–ESPECIALLY because he goes on & on about the Canadians and the seals, but never mentions our own wild horses and what our govt. continues to do to them.
There are lots of questions he could/should be asked, but this one puts him where we want him–if it’s asked correctly (see the wording in my earlier post) because it backs him into a corner of his own making that is also relevant to what he has just expounded on in his book tour speech…other people need to know and this is how to let them see for themselves. These questions are not for us–they are to inform others–see what I mean?
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In Bed with Monsters
Over the years, Wayne Pacelle, the CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, has shown how little he appears to care for animals. Time and time again, he has taken positions that are the antithesis of what you would expect from the head of the nation’s largest animal protection organization. Time and time again, he has sided with regressive and even cruel animal shelter directors, championed the killing of dogs and cats, and worked to hinder the progress of the No Kill movement.
From Tangipahoa Parish, LA where he legitimized the unnecessary mass slaughter of shelter animals to Wilkes County, NC where he embraced the mass slaughter of dogs.
From San Francisco, CA where he fought shelter reform legislation which would have saved lives to the post-Katrina Gulf Coast, where he claimed “Mission Accomplished” and left with tens of millions in HSUS bank accounts which belonged to the animals who continued to suffer.
From legitimizing a round up and kill campaign for cats in Randolph, IA to fear mongering over the bird flu by telling people not to help, feed, or touch stray cats but to call animal control when they see them, agencies with a history of mass slaughter, even as the World Health Organization was telling people cats posed no risk.
From New Orleans, LA after Hurricane Gustav where he fundraised off the largest evacuation of animals in U.S. history conducted by a rescue group by falsely claiming it was an HSUS effort, to Virginia where he demanded that the Vick dogs be killed only to fundraise off of them by telling donors that they were caring for them, when they were not.
Given a history of anti-animal positions he has taken, it would seem unlikely that Pacelle could choose to do anything that would still have the power to shock us. But I must admit that Pacelle stunned me with how truly low and vile he has sunk with his latest scandal: helping Michael Vick—the most notorious animal abuser of our time—reform his image.
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HSUS and Wayne P are fair game!
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In the past when the press was active- getting dirt on HSUS would make a paper or a comment on news circuits. The idea that a ‘sacred cow’ was not so sacred was real news. It is a pity this is no longer the case.
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This is not about HSUS. It is about Michael Vick. I am well aware of the connection between character disorders, sociopathy, and animal abuse. For a couple of years, I worked on an incoming emergency treatment unit for disturbed adolescents, and reading about some of these cases chilled me to the bone. That was not going to be my longview career choice, though I did learn a lot while I was there.
Understand please that I am not defending him or his role in this travesty. However, he was the quarterback of a very good college football team. If he were just another athlete, it would be one thing. But the quarterback is the team leader. In order for the team to win, the other 99 guys have,to be able to lay it all on the line and trust their leader on the field. And the V-Tech Hokies did this week in and week out for four years. These were college kids, the great majority whom will be making their living in engineering, architecture, management, business, agriculture, computer science, and so forth. There is no profit for the,, but the sheer joy of working hard, playing your hearts out and winning, or losing, knowing you gave it the best you had that night.
If Michael Vick had not displayed character traits that inspired the confidence of other players on the team, no matter how talented he was physically, his team would have lost. I watched a few games he played in and I live in this area. I never heard a negative word about him or his work ethic. In contrast, his younger brother, also very physically talented, but who could not follow the program, was kicked off.
Michael plead guilty to all counts as charged and showed up to start his prison sentence on time. He was released a couple of months early for good behavior. He has kept the terms of his probation. He is a very public figure. I’d he does something wrong on a day there is no tsunami, it will be on page 1 at the top.
The videos that show what happened on his property are nauseating to say the least. However, because he is a professional athlete, a lot of r, adults, and at least one country’s President look up to him. If he chooses to talk to young people about the horrors of animal cruelty and the dangers of peer pressure, maybe he will educate a certain percentage of them far more effectively than just an unexceptional, exceptionally good guy could. Michael Vick has some character strengths that many animal abusers do not. Let’s all hope he can use his strengths in a positive way, remain vigilant, and see what we learn over time.
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Wayne is an opportunist and nothing more.
He looks for any opportunity that will benefit the HSUS.
Mike Vick is just one of many.
When the ACTHA started their record ride program and our club was thinking about sponsoring one of their overpriced trail rides I noticed at the time the HSUS was involved. I sent an email to them directly and told them of my thoughts about the HSUS and told them we would not support them if this was true. I also sent out my email to all of my groups and the end result was HSUS was removed from their website.
I suspect HSUS is involved in some way and just one reason why I do not support ACTHA.
The next instance was with Lukas the world’s smartest horse. When his owner emailed me and told me that HSUS had contacted her and wanted part of his programs etc. I told her to tell them NO THANKS!
HSUS does not want any animal to reproduce and wants all of us to be vegans.
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USGS is also involved with WATER
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“About USGS”, from their website:
http://www.usgs.gov/aboutusgs/
“The USGS is a science organization that provides impartial information on the health of our ecosystems and environment, the natural hazards that threaten us, the natural resources we rely on, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the core science systems that help us provide timely, relevant, and useable information.”
They have an extremely broad and varied mission. The reason they’re involved with the wild ones is that they HAVE been involved over a number of years.
This is their “America’s Wild Horses and Burros: Research for Management” Homepage, with lots of links to synopses of their studies (including fertility control):
http://www.fort.usgs.gov/WildHorsePopulations/
Desired characteristics for an ideal wild horse fertility control agent. Specifically, the agent should:
1. Be at least 90% effective. (PZP effectiveness varies in individuals and timeframes, so I assume this means overall.)
2. Be capable of administration by remote delivery. (Both PZP and PZP-22 can be darted.)
3. Either be immediately reversible, or its effects should passively wear off. (The first real arguement against PZP re: multiple applications and sterility.)
4. Be safe to pregnant animals. (So far, proven safe as far as existing pregnancies.)
5. Not pass through the natural food chain. (Both types pass this test.)
6. Be inexpensive. (Overall, remote darting on the range is much less expensive than roundups. How expensive would it be if the HSUS wasn’t involved?)
7. Have no debilitating side effects on the health of the horses. (There have been site-injection complications, and some deaths. Are the deaths directly attributable to PZP? Are the mares and stallions “debilitated” by multiple breedings. If so, how severely? What are the impacts/survival rates for foals born out-of-season on the range?)
8. Not influence the social behavior of the horses. (The second big arguement. Different studies draw different conclusions. Anecdotal observation has value, but isn’t scientific.)
If you open “Wild Horse Fertility Control”, you’ll notice this at the end of the “How PZP Works” box on the right. This is about ANNUAL PZP, not the time-released PZP-22. Annual PZP is administered AT THE PROPER TIME, not whenever the BLM happens to round up the horses.
“Once injected, it causes an immune response, making the mare infertile. Over time, the antibody titers fall and fertility returns. With the liquid vaccine, a booster injection can be given at 10 months to raise the titers back to the infertile range. This can be done each year for at least 4 years, after which time the effects may be more likely to become permanent. For this reason, current individual-level field trials involve only 1–4 years of treatment.” “MAY BE MORE LIKELY” doesn’t mean permanent. Has this “permanence” been scientifically proven or debunked?
Is it good for a 2-year-old filly, wild or domestic, to be bred and go on to have a foal nearly every year, with no “rest periods”? Done correctly, annual PZP is a possible way to manage that.
“Wild Horse Resources – Selected Publications” has links to abstracts, but the full studies may be available elsewhere.
The Nunez study has become a rallying cry for behavioral disruption, and out-of-season breeding and foaling, but it’s a single study on 30 mares in a specific place, and has a caveat: “The broader implications of this research are considerable. As this study suggests, the physiological and behavioural effects of PZP are not fully understood.” The scope of these issues is yet to be determined, and the only way to accomplish that is through extensive field trials on a number of HMAs.
Another consideration in the Nunez study re:behavioral disruption: “Many factors in addition to PZP treatment may affect the number of group changes, the number of groups visited, and the occurrence of reproductive interest. Such factors include mare and harem male age, group size, pregnancy status, the presence of a foal, and the percentage of females contracepted in each group.”
So which is better? Annual PZP darted at the proper time and intervals (with individual horses identified and “genetic contributions” monitored – VERY important), or uncontrolled herd expansion and continued helicopter roundups? I’m not trying to be difficult, just asking the question.
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Love ya, “Ginger”!!
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Thank You Ginger, Knowledge is power !!!!! I think this needs to be directly mailed to the BLM , they certainly have no Idea how to proplerly do anything , the right way……………………….
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I think that the consensus is “In the Wild Management”. IF a study on PZP does need to be done, it would be far more beneficial by being conducted in the natural environment. It seems that would also be much more accurate, as well as cost effective. The herd AND range could and should be monitored. Range conditions also play a significant factor in herd populations. The original intent and purpose of the Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act was very specific in mandating that Wild Herds be managed in a minimally intrusive manner.
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Right on, Louie, and this has been violated across the board in every way possible!
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EVERYTHING that is done to these Wild Horses in captivity causes them either terror or pain..emotional as well as physical. Horses are such sensitive animals to begin with, even when domesticated and POSITIVELY imprinted by humans. One can only imagine what these kind of experiments do to Wild Horses that have endured the trauma of round-ups.
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AND we don’t need to be picking up the tab for it.
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I find these discussions interesting and depressing at the same time. Why is it that we “humans” are so obscessed with “Management and controll”?? How about accepting balancing the ecosystem to proper Prey & predator ratio? “Strange foreign concepts? The other side is, here we are “WH&Burro Advocates” discussing “overpopulation” which is a complete fallacy. I have been monitoring the BLM press releases and “Gather reports” for the past 10 yrs, their existing WH numbers are steady around 36-38000, yet they have been using 3 control measures simultaneously; agressive removals, (….which includes pregnant mares and foals) PZP, and skewed sex ratios. This is “management for exinction”of a species! The situation is dire, today we have less than 16000 WH on the range in non-viable herds. (….referring to the number of reproducing animals in a herd) Also the PZP and SPAY-Vac. is experimental and there is a real potential for permanent sterilization. Side effects are greatly disturbed social behaviour, Mares cycling year around, and more stallions than mares= increased stallion fights more agressive could potentially alter the stallions disposition. Mares are getting stressed by being “raped”. It is time that we advocates “face and accept the truth” being that our magnificient “Symbols of Freedom” will be gone in a couple of years unless we stand up and try saving them NOW! How to do this? Adopt the young intact ones support PRESERVATION !
http://terramar.bc.ca/technical.html……..read the “fine print”!
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