In a 2020 management plan summary, the Arizona Department of Agriculture noted that the Salt River herd consisted of approximately 450 horses, with a recommendation to reduce it to 100 to 200 horses by the use of birth control and natural attrition.
A third party with a no-cost contract would work to achieve the goal within ten years.
The Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group, an affiliate of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, was recruited for the job.
The weapon of choice was PZP.
The effectiveness of the effort would be assessed in five years and that process has been started.
What the advocates did not tell the bureaucrats, apparently, is that most of the mares would be ruined after five years of treatment and that the herd would not reach the target range but pass through it in irreversible decline.
It’s hard to believe that they would lie about anything, especially EPA-registered pesticides, which they refer to as vaccines.
With few exceptions, their nonprofits revolve around the use of these products, and they’re now trying to position themselves as a humane alternative to motorized removal.
RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Synonyms for Sterilization Edition.
Western Horse Watchers Association 