The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, a leader in nonmotorized removal, indicated in the November report that 162 mares received 162 doses of Zonastat-H during the month, 31 given as a primer and 131 as a booster.
Over the life of the program, which began in 2019, 1,978 mares have received an astonishing 8,399 doses of the ovary-killing pesticide.
Of the 175 foals born this year in the primary target zone, 90 have died, in some cases with the aid of predators.
The current population is thought to be 3,479 with 350 horses listed as missing, compared to 3,498 with 338 listed as missing in October.
A goal for December is to “Continue to maximize booster treatments to mares across the Virginia Range to prevent pregnancies, allowing for continued population reduction.”
Not discussed in the report:
- Long-term population goal
- Size of breeding population
- Loss of genetic diversity
- Herd demographics (average age of herd, sex ratio, percent foals)
- Changes in death rates
- Risk of sterility
The program is now in its fifth year and many of the mares are at the point of no return.
The report will be submitted to the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
The Virginia Range is subject to permitted grazing.
RELATED: Virginia Range Darting Update for October 2023.
Western Horse Watchers Association 