The BLM should give the darting program a chance according to the writer of a letter to the Powell Tribune.
The herd is aging. The death rate is increasing. The ranchers need to be patient.
GonaCon will sterilize the mares.
If the agency removes the younger horses the herd will be in danger of dying out.
The capture goal will bring the herd well below the 150 adults needed to maintain genetic viability.
What a bunch of crap!
PZP sterilizes mares.
As birth rates go down, the herds die off.
Breeding populations are too small to sustain genetic diversity.
The minimum herd size of 150 to 200 wild horses (recommended in Section 4.4.6.3 of the WHB Handbook) assumes the advocates are not trying to beat the populations down with ovary-killing pesticides.
The Salt River and Virginia Range, known for their fanatical darting programs, have herds well above 150 but the advocates are driving the breeding populations to zero.
They are responsible for as much or more long-term harm as the federal government.
RELATED: Advocates Say McCullough Peaks Roundup Not Necessary.
Western Horse Watchers Association 