Utah BLM proposes sterilizing stallions on the Frisco HMA (managed by Cedar City Field Office) and the Conger HMA (managed by Fillmore Field Office), supposedly so they can find out the “impacts of sterilizing a portion of male horses in the population and how treatment impacts their behavior and ecology.” According to a 2013 BLM Comparison of Population Growth Suppression Methods document, the BLM knows that there are unknown behavioral effects, but needs to do these “field studies” so they won’t get sued in their pursuit of non-reproducing or minimally reproducing herds. According to BLM 2015 statistics, the Frisco HMA has an AML of only 12-60, and BLM estimates there are 146 horses (last population survey April 2012). The Conger HMA has an AML of 40-80, and BLM estimates there are 156 horses (last population survey March 2011). These herds are barely viable. And, just a thought to keep in mind, 44 years after being mandated to protect wild horses and burros, the BLM is still trying to figure out how to count them correctly. – Debbie
The BLM will work collaboratively with the United States Geological Survey to conduct several studies on wild horses and burros.
BLM Utah Proposes Wild Horse and Burro Research Projects
SOURCE: thehorse.com
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah’s Wild Horse and Burro Program will be working collaboratively with scientists at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center to conduct several wild horse and burro research projects.
The research is being done partly in response to the 2013 National Academies of Science (NAS) report that recommended science-based management of free-roaming equids within the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program.
The NAS report recommended acquiring population ecology information on wild burros to better understand their demographic parameters and improve their management, since there is remarkably little published literature on wild burros. Two research proposals include the Sinbad wild burro herd management area (HMA) managed by the Price Field Office. The first study, which has been approved, would test population survey techniques for burros and identify and develop new techniques that can be applied across wild burro ranges of western rangelands. The second proposed study would study the demography of free-roaming burros to provide data for population modeling, to improve management of wild burros, and to contribute to a better understanding of the ecology of wild burros.
The NAS report also recommended research be done on wild horse demography and ecology, and highlighted the utility of statistical models for improved management. Studies to support this approach are being proposed for the Frisco HMA (managed by Cedar City Field Office) and the Conger HMA (managed by Fillmore Field Office). Specific questions approved in the research for the Conger HMA include quantifying the impacts of sterilizing a portion of male horses in the population and how treatment impacts their behavior and ecology.
Research on both wild horse and wild burro HMAs could include looking at the fertility, fecundity (reproductive rate), recruitment rate, age-specific survival and mortality, habitat selection, movements, habitat range; and the animals’ behavior and ecology at the scale of both the individual and population levels. The BLM expects these studies to support and contribute to the management of wild horses and burros.
The Price, Cedar City, and Fillmore Field Offices have begun initiating the National Environmental Policy Act analysis of the research proposals. The public review and scoping period for these proposals are anticipated to begin early in the fall of 2015.
For more information on upcoming USGS wild horse and burro studies, visit www.fort.usgs.gov/wildhorsepopulations.
Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Can we not recommend the sterilization of the BLM?
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I’m pretty sure all the information they claim to be gathering has already been gathered numerous times before. Field castrations, or anything else they can do to stallions while knocked out on the desert floor, are unsanitary and there will probably be no medical follow-up. An act of cruelty as far as I’m concerned. Where is HSUS in all of this? The BS never ends.
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The BLM obviously has nothing else to do
“Man cannot live without Nature
But Nature thrives without Man”
🐎🐎🐎
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Stallion Castration
A veterinarian from UC Davis did an independent investigation into gelding practices at Indian Lakes following the first Calico roundup.
He observed that a quick, efficient process was used that seemed to minimize recovery time. However, he was very concerned about the use of succinylcholine, a paralytic, NOT an anesthetic, during the course of the surgery. He noted increased heart rate and respiration during the initial phase of surgery, indicating these animals were awake and aware of what was happening to them before anesthesia.
Click to access Davis%20Report%20July%201%20Visit%20to%20Indian%20Lakes%20.pdf
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Very concerning. Why can’t we just.stop.meddling.
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“If left on his rightful range he would be alive today“
https://rtfitchauthor.com/2015/08/03/blm-murders-another-wild-horse/
Grulla #3907, Antonino, has left this Earth.
The vet report said they didn’t proceed with gelding; that Antonino died from possible cardiac arrest from the anesthesia. This is the “medical” reason.
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I would assume that this “anesthesia” was the paralytic that they have used before? This is just another of the BLM’s screw-ups! Now they want to “test” this procedure out on the range – this is yet another of the BLM’s “lets try this & see what happens” research! They are no better than the research labs that torture small animals!
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From Animal Law Coalition
BLM’s Final Solution for the Wild Horses and Burros
December 22, 2009
http://animallawcoalition.com/blms-final-solution-for-the-wild-horses-and-burros/
Internal documents from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) shed light on the agency’s motives and plans for the wild horses and burros.
Two reports issued by the BLM for internal use only, The Herd Management Option Plans from October 2008, and the Team Conference Calls Report from July-September 2008 contain astonishing proposals to manipulate the WFRHBA and NEPA, eliminate the wild horses and burros altogether from the wild, and until they can be euthanized or sold most likely for slaughter, sterilize them and place them in feedlots paid for by rescue organizations duped into thinking the animals are in private “preserves”.
Aggressive sterilization and manipulation of herd ratios
Alternate Management Options
Click to access BLMFOIA.pdf
Click to access BLM.Team.Euth.FOIA_Cover.letter.pdf
Team Conference Calls
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You people are ridiculous. This will still end the wild horses. It’s called extinction not sterilization. We the people need to rid the BLM.
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Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog.
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Why is this needed, they already have way to many sterilized horses in captivity. Release a few of them & have the study, no need to sterilize more & lose the valuable DNA. Sadistic, just another way of getting rid of them in the name of science, horrible
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Documents from Bureau of Land Management Reflect Intent of BLM for Wild Horses in Holding Facilities & on Public Lands
https://wildhorseinvestigationteam.wordpress.com/blm-secret-plan-to-destroy-wild-horses/
Quote from internal BLM document discussing euthanasia of wild horses: “Increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism.”
(Phoenix, June 6, 2009). The Conquistador Program announced today that it has received material obtained under the Freedom of Information Act that indicates the Bureau of Land Management is continuing to plan for the euthanasia of a large number of wild horses now in long-term and short-term holding facilities across the United States and for direct sale authority for many more. Notes of conference calls extending from July 22, 2008 through September 23, 2008
Spaying mares and returning them to the wild. (This option holds the risk of a minimum 10% mortality rate to the mares. The statistic is provided by a BLM staffer based on data from the spaying of 30 mares by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service at Sheldon Refuge in Nevada).
“Team” members listed on the Implementation Team Conference Calls are:
Dean Bolstad Deputy Div Chief
GUS WARR – Utah BLM Wild Horse and Burro lead
Sally Spencer email coordinator re sales of 10K to Canada for slaughter, also Sale Authority rep in DC
John Neill – manager of Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Center in Reno, NV
Alan Shepard – lead BLM officer for state of Nevada
Bea Wade WH&B Specialist
Joe Stratton – manager of the Elm Creek holding facility in Nebraska. Monsanto featured Joe Stratton on a video it did about wild horses: View here
Rob Jeffers – Project manager lead in Modoc National Forest (Forest Service) in northeastern CA, and former head of the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program in Susanville, CA
Al Kane – USDA APHIS veterinarian
Jim Johnson – deceased
Lili Thomas – National Wild Horse and Burro Specialist
Bud Cribley – BLM Deputy Asst. Director, Resources and Planning
Don Glenn – Division Chief, BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program (retired)
Team meetings minutes:
http://thecloudfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/blm_implementation_team_minutes
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Where Have All The Geldings Gone?
http://americanherds.blogspot.com/2007/09/where-have-all-geldings-gone_06.html
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2007
Where Have All The Geldings Gone? (excerpts)
A letter to the editor published in the Washington Times by Valerie James Patton has exposed the stunning possibility that the Bureau of Land Management may be shipping our wild horses into Mexico under a “non-slaughter” listing. What happens to these geldings once they cross the border is certainly one of the big questions that deserves an investigation.
According to Ms. Patton’s letter, over 2,000 geldings have been sent through one particular slaughter port from New Mexico to Mexico this year alone. According to the report, this year’s number of geldings is twice as high as it was for the same time last year.
The geldings are the exclusive class of animal being shipped through this port under a “non-slaughter” listing, begging the questions-
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THERE IS NO OVERPOPULATION OF WILD HORSES ON PUBLIC LANDS
http://www.horsefund.org/wild-horses-fact-sheet.php
Wild horses comprise a minute fraction of grazing animals on public lands. When the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed in 1971, Congress stated that “wild horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene.”
Since then, population levels have been slashed by about half, to less than 25,000 animals. To evaluate population levels and justify round-ups, BLM estimates an annual population increase rate of about 20%. This unsubstantiated number appears grossly inflated when compared to the National Academy of Sciences’ estimate of a 10% annual population increase rate.
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Many thanks for all the valuable info, Louis C. Wish you could give it to Congress.
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Barbara, ALL of us can give it to Congress…emails, faxes, phone calls. They DO pay attention. We’ve seen that.
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Louie, I meant there should be a Congressional investigation. I have been giving my Senators and Rep. info for years , even handed it to them in person. Senators McConnell and Paul probably threw it in the trash. Congressman Whitfield is on the side of horses so I could talk to him .
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Barbara, I didn’t mean that for you. I was just on my soapbox. I sometimes think that many are inclined to just give up because they don’t realize their own power. If not for people like you, there would probably not be any Wild Horses or Wild Burros left. We should all be as tenacious and dedicated as you are and have been for so many years.
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Politics are a funny thing. Sometimes things can backfire.
The Public is fed up with lies and corruption
Our elected officials need to understand that and we must make it abundantly clear to them.
The Wild and Free Roaming Horses & Burro Act means exactly that…WILD and FREE ROAMING….on Public Lands.
That does NOT include Capture, Removal, Sterilization or Slaughter.
2006
ELECTION DAY
http://www.terrifarley.com/2006_11_01_archive.html
Most of you know CONRAD BURNS introduced legislation to slaughter wild horses. Today he is running for re-election. I have been doing what I can for his opponent. If you live in Montana, please remind your parents their vote counts for more than saving horses. Burns is listed as one of the most corrupt officials in the country and supports selling public lands to private developers.
Guess that’s why he wanted horses and wildlife outta there!
Hugs to you all,
Terri
An Interview with FORMER Sen. CONRAD BURNS
https://animallawcoalition.com/an-interview-with-former-sen-conrad-burns/
In the world of equine welfare there may be no person subject to derision than FORMER Montana Sen. CONRAD BURNS. An ardent supporter of horses as a commodity to be sold for whatever reason their owner deems profitable, the former auctioneer LOST HIS SEAT in the U.S. Senate to a farmer, Jon Tester, after passage of the Burns Amendment.
The law was passed in the dead of night after it was attached to an appropriations bill nobody had read. For the first time, in an exclusive interview with Horseback Magazine, Burns how revocation of the law came about.
BURNS: Well, [Sen.] HARRY REID came to me and said, ‘I’ve got a problem in Nevada.’ And I said I said ‘What kind of a problem do you have?’ because we don’t have a problem up in Montana.
HORSEBACK: So what happened then?
BURNS: So he and I, up in his office, got together and we crafted that amendment because they’ve really got that problem of over grazing down there. That’s how that came about.
HORSEBACK: It was actually REID’S idea, huh?
BURNS: Yeah, well it was his problem. I just helped him solve it, that’s all.
HORSEBACK: Well, you did a pretty good job of it.
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Could the BLM please find something usefull, helpful or important to do .? The constant assult on our nations heritage/ history us an insult and has been for decades- generations. Horse and Burro ActS are disgrace also..
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BEWARE
Yet another group looking to remove America’s Wild Horses & Burros from Public Lands
Protect The Harvest
Urges Citizens To Demand Answers at Bureau of Land Management’s September Meeting
COLUMBIA, MO -1 September 2015 Protect The Harvest, a national pro-agriculture coalition, is urging citizens to attend the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse Advisory Board meeting that will take place on September 2-3, 2015 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and demand answers for the agency’s anti-rancher policies as well as its mismanagement of America’s wild horse population.
“At the behest of a small group of animal liberation activists, the Bureau of Land Management is waging a war of attrition against American ranchers in the West,” explained Brian Klippenstein, Executive Director of Protect The Harvest. “They are stripping away the lawful land and water rights of honest ranchers under the guise of protecting wild horses. The sad punchline is that their policies are actually endangering the very horses they claim to defend.”
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Have you read about their “film”? I believe its called Wild Ride. Shows a herd of wild horses “overgrazing” on a family ranch!!!! When I first heard of the movie I thought it was pro-wild horses. Boy was I wrong. It was backed by Protect the Harvest.
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Typical of the anti-horse lobby. They want to continue killing them but they can’t without angering the public and bucking the NAS report. The solution??? Easy: they put on some white coats and whitewash their little mengele plan as science.
Once they are done with Frisco and Conger they will just say “oh… the results are inconclusive. We need to ‘study’ a larger population”, just like the Japanase do with whales, and the bloodbath will go on, and on, and on… till they’re all gone.
Field castrations and ovariectomies (they do not content themselves with just sterilizing stallions) are not science. It is eugenics, like the nazi!!!
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Like planned parenthood -out of control
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Long term holding costs taxpayers $43 million a year – absurd
http://www.nbc11news.com/home/headlines/Cost-of-the-BLMs-horse-removal–324018151.html?device=phone&c=y
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Haven’t you guys ( BLM ) done enough damage to the Wild Horses and Burros ??? You received money to sterialize these horses and burros a long time ago . What happened to that money ??? Maybe if you had done some of this back then you wouldn’t have had to capture and slaughter so many like you have now. Your sup post to protect them not kill them like you have or sell them to people that you know are known people that take them to slaughter. What is wrong with you BLM ?? Are you that greedy ??? Shame on you BLM !! Now I bet you need more money to do your bullshit to the Burros!! How much do you get from all the cattle you allow to graze on our public land ??? You need to be restructured and get people that will protect what is left of the horses and burros. Leave them alone BLM they aren’t hurting the land like the cattle and sheep are. Horses and burros don’t rip out the roots of the food they eat. Nothing like the damage that cattle and sheep do. Leave them alone you have done enough damage to the horses, burros and the land. Aren’t you guys happy yet ????
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Why do they have to study gelding? We all know the result. They need to keep their hands off our horses and burros. There are only about 20,000 mustangs left in the wild but that is still too many for the BLM. We need to stop them in their tracks and get the Burns Act repealed so the BLM have some limitations on what they can do to these poor horses. At the moment the BLM is doing whatever they want with no fear of consequences. We need to burst their omnipotent bubble.
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