WILD HORSE MANAGEMENT

Megan Campbell
CO 300

https://www.aspca.org/news/us-house-reaffirms-commitment-protecting-wild-horses-and-burros
 BACKGROUND

• Wild horses are feral

animals.
• Protected by The Wild Free-
Roaming Horse and Burro
Act of 1971.
• Managed by the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM).
• Populations increasing
• No natural predators
• Limited population
management by the BLM
https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/about-the-program
http://www.wildhorserange.org/uploads/2/6/0/7/26070410/nhbrmc_combine
dfactsheets-may.16.pdf https://www.horsesforlife.org/news-blog/categor
%20gorey/2
http://www.wildhorserange.org/uploads/2/6/0/7/26070410/nhbrmc_co
mbinedfactsheets-may.16.pdf

THE PROBLEM

•Currently exceed the carrying capacity of the land by 55,000 animals.

•Overpopulation has caused wild horses to starve and had major impacts on
the land, wildlife, and livestock.
•Current management of wild horses is unsuccessful and needs to be changed.
 • The Bureau of Land Management
• The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act
of 1971.
• Capable of creating change.
TARGET AUDIENCE
• Current BLM management strategies are
ineffective.
• Essay will propose an alternative
management strategy.
 ESSAY TITLE AND THESIS

• Essay Title:
• “Changing Wild Horse Management Strategies to Save Wild Horses,
The Land, Wildlife, and Livestock Grazing”
• Essay Thesis:
• The current wild horse management strategies of the BLM have been
shown to be ineffective and therefore should be changed to include
more funding for PZP and training animals for the adoption program.
 IMPLEMENTING
FERTILITY
CONTROL
METHODS

•Prevents pregnancy in mares

•PZP is effective, humane, and
cost effective
•PZP would limit population
growth.

https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/fertility-control
 USING PZP TO MANAGE
POPULATION GROWTH

• Requires development of a PZP

vaccination program in order to be
effective.
• PZP is a better option than the current
use of BLM holding facilities.
• Main goal is to limit population growth

https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/1/2/22189195/virginia-range-nevada-wild-
horse-fertility-control-treatments-program-pzp-africa-elephant-reserves
 BETTER PROMOTION OF
ADOPTION PROGRAM

Current adoption program is extremely

effective but has only been used on a
small scale.

The BLM incentive program has

increased adoption rates.

https://twitter.com/blmwhb/status/1260987352094142464
 TRAINING WILD HORSES FOR
ADOPTION

• Untrained horses = adoption hesitancy

• Spend more of budget on training horses would …
• Increase adoption rates
• Reduce population numbers in holding facilities and on the range.
• Used with PZP would result in well managed wild horse
populations.

https://www.powelltribune.com/stories/100-days-to-tame-a-mustang,2321
 • PZP may not be effective enough because of
COUNTERARGUMENT AGAINST the difficulty to use it on a large number of
F E RT I L I T Y C O N T R O L animals.
• Cost
 • Adoptions are not enough to significantly reduce
COUNTERARGUMENT the number of wild horses on the range and in
AGAINST ADOPTION holding facilities.
PROGRAM
• Cost of adoption program
 REBUTTAL TO COUNTERARGUMENTS

• PZP and the adoption program are not currently being used on a large
scale by the BLM
• Not helping manage wild horse populations.
• If BLM used PZP and adoption promotion …
• PZP would limit population growth
• Adoptions would reduce the number of horses on the range and in holding
facilities.
• Worth the cost.

https://www.perc.org/about-us/what-we-do/current-
initiatives/reining-in-the-wild-horse-crisis/
 To manage wild horse populations the BLM needs
to …
• Use PZP
BIG PICTURE • Manage population growth
• Use incentive program / train wild horses
• Reduce number of wild horses
 • ”Frequently Asked Questions About the Overpopulation of Wild Horses and Burros on Federal Lands.” American Veterinary Medical
Association, https://www.avma.org/wild-horses-burros-faq Accessed 21 Mar. 2021.

• “Wild Horse and Burro Program.” Bureau of Land Management, https://www.blm.gov/whb Accessed 21 Mar. 2021.

• Masters, Ben. “Wild Horses, Wilder Controversy.” National Geographic, 6 Feb. 2017,
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/wild-horses-part-one

• Masters, Ben. “Wild Horses: The Consequences of Doing Nothing.” National Geographic, 7 Feb. 2017,
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/wild-horses-part-two

• Masters, Ben. “The Future of Americas Wild Horses: The Options.” National Geographic, 10 Feb. 2017,
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/wild-horse-management-options.

• “Fertility Control.” American Wild Horse Campaign, https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/fertility-control. Accessed 30 Mar. 2021.

WORKS CITED • “Cash Incentives Help Agency Adopt More Wild Horses and Burros.” Bureau of Land Management,
https://www.blm.gov/press-release/cash-incentives-help-agency-adopt-more-wild-horses-and-burros. Accessed 30 Mar. 2021.

• “Wild Horse and Burro Management.” The American Farm Bureau Federation,
https://www.fb.org/issues/other/wild-horse-and-burro-management/. Accessed April 6 2021.

• “The ASPCA’s Commitment to Wild Horses.” ASPCA,

https://www.aspca.org/animal-protection/public-policy/aspcas-commitment-wild-horses. Accessed 6 Apr. 2021.

• Visser, E. (2017). The continuing saga of wild horse management: finding a balance in the case of one of America’s iconic
symbols. William and Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review, 41(3), 683–.

• Report to Congress, Management Options for a Sustainable Wild Horse and Burro Program. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Land Management, Wild Horse and Burro Program, 2018.

• Bartholow, John. “Economic Benefit of Fertility Control in Wild Horse Populations.” The Journal of Wildlife Management, vol. 71, no. 8,
The Wildlife Society, 2007, pp. 2811–19, doi:10.2193/2007-064.