I am ATTACHING my public comment for all of you in hopes that you may find something to use for your personal comment letter – I think it is due this Sunday.

Note multiple email addresses at the bottom of my letter. As long as we have concerns and have write letters, it is my belief that many BLM, USGS and politicians should have it also. You can use all or part of it any way you wish for the sake of our wild ones.

Good luck on YOUR letter.

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August 27, 2018

United States Department of the Interior

Bureau of Land Management

BLM Burns District Office

28910 Highway 20 West

Hines, Oregon 97738

Attn: Mare Sterilization Research Project Lead

Email:  blm_or_spaystudy_warmsprhma@blm.gov

Re: DOI-BLM-ORWA-B050-2018-0016-EA (Spay Feasibility and On-Range Behavioral Outcomes Assessment and /Warm Springs HMA Population Management Plan) Mare Sterilization Research Environmental Assessment (EA)

Link to EA: https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/planAndProjectSite.do?methodName=dispatchToPatternPage&currentPageId=158496

 

Dear Sir/Madam:

This letter is a complaint against and my strong objection to the proposal of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and any and all contractors involved with and/or paid for by taxpayers via the BLM/DOI and proposed to be performed at the BLM facility location at the Burns Oregon and Hines Oregon wild horse holding facilities but this complaint and objection is in conjunction with any and all government or private facility under direction of the BLM.

 I am very disturbed by your proposal to conduct sterilizations on any captured wild mares. I consider these experiments to be both unjustified and contrary to the core intent of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFHBA). I require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cease and bring to a halt any current or future attempts to proceed with these dangerous and deadly procedure ovariectomy via colpotomy procedures.

Primum non nocere is a Latin phrase that translates to “first do no harm.” This is the fundamental belief ingrained into doctors that, no matter the situation, their primary responsibility is to the patient.  Ultimately, “first doing no harm” means that in some cases it may be better to not do something, or even to do nothing at all, rather than create unnecessary risk. Veterinary medicine is no exception to the principle of primum non nocere. Like all doctors, they are required to maintain the best interests of their patients above all else.

 As an American citizen, environmental researcher and a life-long visitor to the state of Oregon, I appreciate the opportunity to provide input on the proposed Mare Sterilization Research Environmental Assessment National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process but first let’s be clear on this major issue: the federal government does not own land in the West and the federal government does not own these wild horses. These are not “state lands” and not “federal lands” and not even “government lands”. They are public lands and public resources. The American people own the public lands and resources in the West and they are administered on our behalf by the national government under laws and regulations. This land and its resources, including the wild horses and burros belong to all citizens of the United States, not the federal government and certainly not to the BLM.

Sterilization

Sterilization is a term referring to any process that eliminates (removes) or kills (deactivates) all forms of life.  Sterilizing a wild horse or burro herd is the opposite of the intent of the 1971 Wild Free-roaming Horse and Burro Act (WFRHBA) and the BLM’s long repeated mantra, “Healthy herds on healthy rangelands”. How can a sterilized wildlife population be considered healthy? The proposed plan violates the National Environmental Protection Act and the WFRHBA because it fails to analyze an alternative that follows the Congressional Act that states, the wild horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death’. The plan also fails to adequately analyze the impact of sterilization on the individual wild animals as well as it does not analyze the impacts to the “wild” and “free-roaming” nature of the wild horses and burros including but not limited to behavioral dynamics and the physical and mental health of the wild animals. By implementing both field and “research” sterilization of wild mares and/or stallions as a means of population control, the BLM guarantees managing wild horses and burros to extinction.

 Medical Malpractice Related to Unnecessary Surgery

By Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C.

“Unnecessary surgery is a type of medical malpractice. A form of medical malpractice that has become an alarming and growing problem in the U.S. is unnecessary surgery. This type of malpractice can lead to life-threatening complications and completely alter an individual’s life. When a surgeon performs any unnecessary surgery, it is an act of medical negligence. Doctors should take every precaution before deciding to prescribe any type of invasive surgery to a patient. When there is a failure to do this and it results in unnecessary surgery, they may be held legally liable. Unnecessary surgery can lead to serious or even life-threatening complications. Some of the risks include hemorrhaging, damage to organs, infection, amputation and anesthesia errors. Putting animals through unnecessary surgery where they face complications that could significantly alter their life is a form of medical negligence.”…(CONTINUED)

Click (HERE) to view and download entire document

https://app.box.com/s/i8med50kht44jaupirnca71na1wfc1wb