News update – Wild Horses and PZP
Below are a couple of news articles on the wild horse contraceptive debate. The research on the effects of PZP on wild horses is often over looked by officials promoting its use. As pointed out in the comments in one of the articles, consecutive PZP use results in mares foaling later in the season when they are allowed to give birth. This can be disastrous in areas such as Montana and Wyoming. For Jay Kirkpatrick, promoter of PZP and director the Science and Conservation Center to say “PZP is so safe its boring” is either an outright lie or a man who does not know the complex facts. The use of contraceptives is still considered to be a much better, safer method of dealing with wild horse population management when compared to “culling” such as the US used to do on a regular basis and Australia has done in more recent years. How do you feel about the use of contraceptives on wild horses? ~ HfH
From: Casper Star Tribune
By: Mike Ferguson
Billings police called as group protests wild horse contraceptives
BILLINGS, Mont. — The group Friends of Animals spent 22 minutes Thursday morning in the lobby of the Bureau of Land Management Montana-Dakotas state office protesting the agency’s proposal to gather 25 adoptable young horses from the Pryor Mountain wild horse herd.
With an audible boost from of a pair of bullhorns, members from Connecticut to California made comments, demanded a meeting with Jim Sparks, manager of the Billings field office, and then delivered a certificate of sorts — the “Worst Federal Agency Award” asserting that the agency has “assaulted and violated wild horses in the Pryor Mountain Range.”
Prior Mountain is just north of the Wyoming border near the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.
After the group departed the office and had gathered outside, about eight Billings police squad cars arrived, and Lt. Mark Cady — alerted by police from Federal Protective Services — spoke to the group’s president, Priscilla Feral.
Cady said he told Feral that the group has the right to protest and that police were there to keep them safe. He said Billings police were on hand “on a law-enforcement assist.”
The relatively large response was based on a report that there were up to 30 protesters present, Cady said.
Continue Reading: Billings police called as group protests wild horse contraceptives
From: Ruidoso News
Infertility key to managing wild herds
Wild horses on the Assateague Island National Seashore are living longer, with less impact on their natural surroundings, thanks to birth control.
The horses on Assateague Island, off the coast of Maryland, have been managed by the National Park Service for more than 20 years using the PZP fertility control vaccine. According to a story published by the Daily Times of Salisbury, Md., management of the horses with PZP has helped reduce negative impacts on the park’s natural habitat and other native species.
Fertility control also is helping horses to live longer. In 1990, hardly any horses lived past 15. Now, the horses are living to 30 and older.
According to Assateague Science Communicator Kelly Taylor, females in the herd receive the vaccine starting when they’re two, but then go off of it when they’re four until they deliver a live foal. It’s the equivalent of preventing a scenario similar to a teen pregnancy, where the horse’s body isn’t fully developed and ready to give birth.
mustang man
The science shows and has proven time after time that PZP can be used safely. Period. Anything can be abused whether its round ups. drugs or any other program by either side. It’s up to us to instigate the change even if its not exactly what we want, let’s just get some change started then chip at it until we can get a working program. I have witnessed December and January births and the high percentage of deaths that occur, first hand. I have held the dead foals, the dying mares. This though has been mostly in the use of 22 not the original, There is also proven evidence that repeated use year after year in the same mares can cause them to take repeated years until they can reproduce again after stopping the PZP inoculations, both are issues. the answer lies in the middle,probably varied for each HMA as well. Many years of fine tuning for each location and the sooner advocates can get a change to happen to start this the better. We are never going to get what we want fully, we are a small group without a solid all for one voice nor willing or able to put our money where our mouth is, until we fix ourselves we are not going to help the horses, bottom line our in wavering uncompromising demands are ignored and will continue to be until we change ourselves and stop giving the non advocates the same profile to work against us each and every time…
Louie C
From Dr. C. DeCarlo, who has a background in equine reproductive immunology and wildlife conservation:
http://www.andeantapirfund.com/PZPinputPryorsChristineDeCarloPhD112710.txt
“There is a recent Princeton University study on PZP effects. Consecutive PZP applications, analogous to the proposed action plan [in this EA], showed that mares gave birth later in the season, and were cycling into the fall months (Nunez et al. 2010). In a state like Montana where freezing temperatures are found in the fall, this can have serious and long term effects on foal survivorship. Any form of PZP contraception is not completely reversible in mares depending on the length of use of PZP. Contraception can only be reversed when the antibody titer decreases to 50-60% of the positive reference sera (Liu et al. 2005). Mares treated for 7 consecutive years do not return to viable fertility (Kirkpatrick and Turner 2002; Kirkpatrick et al. 2009). The issue of reversible contraception is very important to be able to maintain wild equines in the United States. Long term treatment with PZP has inherent negative potential for this herd.”
[This plan is] “reminiscent of the approach taken with the Assateague Island wild horse population. A recent study shows that mitochondrial DNA diversity is low in the Assateague Island horse herd (Eggert et al. 2010). Since mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the mother (mare), this is evidence that female inherited genetics on Assateague Island wild horses is under represented. It is imperative that this be assessed before rolling out a similar management plan for the Pryor Mountain wild horses.”
“I must include a statement on long term consecutive use of PZP. Any form of PZP contraception is not completely reversible in mares depending on the length of use of PZP. Contraception can only be reversed when the antibody titer decreases to 50-60% of the positive reference sera (Liu et al. 2005). Mares treated for 7 consecutive years do not return to viable fertility (Kirkpatrick and Turner 2002; Kirkpatrick et al. 2009). The issue of reversible contraception is very important to be able to maintain wild equines in the United States. Long term treatment with PZP has inherent negative potential for this herd.”
“Contraception can only be reversed when the antibody titer decreases to 50-60% of the positive reference sera (Liu et al. 2005). … I can not support the proposed action … which would keep mares vaccinated with PZP consecutively for most of their reproductive life (revaccination every 2-3 years). This plan would insure that the mares administered PZP … would never reproduce. … this would be catastrophic to sustaining the herd but also to genetic variation of the species.”
Louie C
Cloud’s Herd showing first signs of genetic decline
COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. (Sept. 16, 2013) – For over thirty years, the genetics of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Herd have been tracked by foremost equine geneticist, E. Gus Cothran. His first revelations linking the herd to the horses of the Spanish Conquistadors and Old World Iberian Horses were cause for celebration among local supporters of the herd who long believed that the primitive physical appearance of some Pryor horses were indicators of their Spanish ancestry. Cothran also indicated in earlier reports that the genetic diversity of the herd was good.
But Cothran’s newest report issued on August 22, 2013 reveals a herd at risk of losing genetic variability. Cothran states that “compared to past sampling of this herd, variability levels for all measures has been in decline.” He further states that the expression of the Spanish heritage is “stronger than seen recently,” but we could be seeing “the very beginning of evidence of inbreeding.”
http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/mt/field_offices/billings/wild_horses.Par.90380.File.dat/Pryor_MNTS%202012%20Genetic%20Report.pdf
Louie C
The following is a public statement issued by International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros.(ISPMB)
ISPMB is the oldest Wild Horse & Burro protection organization in the United States.
Velma Johnston (Wild Horse Annie) was the first president.
ISPMB has been working with Princeton University to study Wild Horse herd and reproductive behavior
http://www.ispmb.org/
There is NO overpopulation of wild horses and burros
Wild horses and burros are NOT the cause of habitat degradation of public lands.
Wild horse and burro populations have been nearly CUT IN HALF since 1971 when Congress declared they were “fast disappearing from the American scene.”
Approximately 75% of the herds have LESS than viable numbers of animals for future sustainability. Each herd must have 150 effective breeders according to Dr. Gus Cothran, leading equine geneticist in the world. (effective breeders constitute only those animals breeding which omits the very old and the very young in the count)
In 2009, Dr. Cothran reported studying 123 wild herds which 20% of THEM showed a critical or near critical loss of genetic diversity.
We must STOP the BLM AT ALL COSTS from suppressing wild horse and burro populations any further and especially through permanent sterilization.
For the PAST 100 YEARS, due to overgrazing by livestock, our public lands habitat has been in static to downward trend with few areas improving.
Mar Wargo
Lt. Cady was very nice and realistic. Thank goodness. BLM seems to have invited us into their lions’ den!