The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, a leader in nonmotorized removal and fierce opponent of principal use, reported today that 107 mares received 108 doses of PZP during the month, 19 given as primers and 89 as boosters.
Over the life of the program, which began in 2019, 2,068 mares have received 9,967 doses of the pesticide, for an average of 4.8 doses per mare.
The results fell 33 doses short of the 10,000-dose milestone predicted for October.
The epicenter of the program is in and around the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, listed as USA Parkway in the page 3 chart.
Since the beginning of the year, 165 foals have been born and 66 died.
The current population is thought to be 3,465 with 294 horses listed as missing, compared to 3,501 with 299 horses listed as missing in September.
The population was 3,515 with 302 horses listed as missing in August and 3,548 with 311 listed as missing in July.
The Year 6 agreement with NDA has not been posted to the darting resources page.
The Year 5 summary has not been posted to the monthly reports page.
A goal for November is to maximize booster treatments so the herd will continue to shrink and to complete the training of newly certified darters.
Not discussed in the October update:
- Long-term population goal
- Number of viable mares
- Size of breeding population
- Loss of genetic diversity
- Changes in death rate and sex ratio
- Unlawful use of pesticides
The report will be submitted to the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
RELATED: Virginia Range Darting Update for September 2024.
Western Horse Watchers Association 