Western Horse Watchers Association
Exposing the Hypocrisy, Lies and Incompetence of the Wild Horse Advocates
Imagine submitting a proposal to manage the herd at 150 head and instead of seeing it grow, you’re watching it shrink, irreversibly.
Everyone’s looking at you with suspicion.
But you had nothing to do with it.
The problem was created by your predecessor, the Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group and its overlords at the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses.
RELATED: Four Organizations Bidding on Salt River Management Contract.
In the introduction to a 2012 Q&A about PZP, Jay Kirkpatrick of the Billings School of PZP Darting and Public Deception stated that “…oversight by The Humane Society of the United States assures that the vaccine is used only to slow reproduction and may not be used for the extermination of entire herds.”
Further, “PZP is designed to bring about short-term infertility and is reversible, if not used beyond five consecutive years.”
On page 29 he refutes the remarks on page 3: “The HSUS will permit the use of PZP to manage, even reduce, but not to eliminate wild horses.”
Writing about the disaster at Assateague Island, which he did not live to see, “the first sign of population reduction took about eight years, but herd reduction has been moving more quickly since then. The following eight years, herd numbers went down from 175 to 114, without any removal of horses, treating anywhere from 48% to 79% annually.”
If a helicopter took the herd from 175 to 114, 61 horses would be removed and the advocates would be howling, but if it’s done with pesticides, no horses are removed.
Moreover, the job took eight years to complete and eight is greater than five, so most of the mares had been ruined by the time the population hit 114.
This is evident today.
You cannot shrink a population without driving the birth rate to zero, or nearly so, for an extended period, which usually exceeds five years.
Herd reduction leads to sterilization and sterilization leads to extermination, which the Humane Society won’t allow, supposedly.
NOTE: HSUS is now HWA.
RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, One Track Mind Edition.
The Arizona Department of Agriculture will reopen the RFP soon according to a story by Phoenix New Times but a date was not given.
The article looks at the incumbent and one of its challengers, a group led by historian John Mack and Forest Service contractor Jacquelyn Hughes.
Hughes was involved in the removal of wild horses from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in 2022.
Simone Netherlands of the Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group suspects the contract will go to the group that proposes the smallest population goal.
That will raise questions in some circles about genetic diversity but the point is moot when most of the mares have ruined by PZP.
RELATED: Salt River RFP Cancelled.
Those who would combat myths about wild horses are often the greatest spreaders thereof.
Genetic viability correlates with breeding populations, not AMLs or herd sizes.
You have to correct the figures for the number of mares that have been ruined or are in the process of being ruined with fertility control pesticides.
For example, the current population at the Salt River is approximately 260 and most advocates would conclude that genetic diversity is satisfactory when in fact most of the mares have been sterilized by PZP and the breeding population can be counted on one hand.
As for carrying capacity, if a wild horse area is subject to permitted grazing, which is almost always the case, the AML is small relative to the available resources and the land can support many more animals than the bureaucrats admit.
The Silver King HMA in eastern Nevada supports livestock equivalent to 2,530 wild horses, on top of the 128 allowed by plan.
A herd that large is not safe from the advocates.
Volunteers with the Campaign Against America’s Wild horses are wiping out the Virginia Range mustangs with PZP, a population that exceeded 3,000.
Clover Mountain and Pine Nut Mountains were added to the June 3 update.
Chloride, Four Mile and Bible Spring were added in May.
No change to the bottom-line totals.
The advocates lure you in with remarks about helicopter roundups then ask you to give them money so they can eradicate the herds with pesticides.
File Under: Charlatans.
“Let the mustang be in charge.”
Can you think of a better way to set him up for failure and put yourself at risk of injury?
The full video runs nearly two hours.
Some equestrians are as nutty as the wild horse advocates.
Lately they’ve referred to it as humane management, in-the-wild management or one of these terms:
They all mean the same thing: Wiping out herds with ovary-killing pesticides.
There are no helicopters, no horses falling out of trailers on the way to off-range corrals and no euthanizing animals for pre-existing conditions.
But the results are the same, with the added benefit that the herds don’t bounce back.
RELATED: Humane Disposal of Wild Horses and Burros?
Horses have the day off. In the Hickison HMA with DebraElaine McDonald.
From the project description in ePlanning:
The Wolf Creek allotment would contain 8,253 acres of BLM administered land, 2,712 deeded acres and 640 acres of state lands. The BLM administered acreage would have 1,242 AUMs of active use, equivalent to 103 wild horses or 12.5 wild horses per thousand public acres.
Your faithful public servants insist the public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres (25,500 animals on 25.6 million acres).
The Square Butte allotment would contain 5,039 acres of BLM administered land, 2,280 deeded acres and 663 acres of state lands. The BLM administered acreage would have 754 AUMs of active use, equivalent to 63 wild horses or 12.5 wild horses per thousand public acres.
The Ely allotment would contain 1,563 acres of BLM administered land and 480 deeded acres. The BLM administered acreage would have 326 AUMs of active use equivalent to 27 wild horses or 17.4 wild horses per thousand public acres.
The 7-W allotment would contain 6,201 acres of BLM administered land, 6,729 deeded acres and 640 acres of state lands. The BLM administered acreage would have 1,430 AUMs of active use, equivalent to 119 wild horses or 19.2 wild horses per thousand public acres.
The Six-X allotment would contain 10,327 acres of BLM administered land, 8,978 deeded acres and 1,920 acres of state lands. The BLM administered acreage would have 2,125 AUMs of active use, equivalent to 177 wild horses or 17.1 wild horses per thousand public acres.
The D.K. North Pasture allotment would contain 4,470 acres of BLM administered land, 13,686 deeded acres, and 640 acres of state lands. The BLM administered acreage would have 758 AUMS of authorized active use, equivalent to 63 wild horses or 14.1 wild horses per thousand public acres.
The advocates don’t want you looking at the numbers because they contradict their allies, expose the gravy train and destroy the rationale for their darting programs.
RELATED: Montana Allotment Split Reveals Abundant Forage.
They want the herds eliminated with pesticides while the bureaucrats prefer helicopters.
Walker is a PZP adherent and close supporter of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses.
The NGO advising you of a threat to animals in off-range holding is, in fact, humanely disposing the herd on the Virginia Range.
Its affiliate in Arizona, who insists that the state’s new plan will destroy the Salt River herd, is in fact destroying the herd.
Whatever the advocates warn you about, they’re doing times ten, a sure sign they’re liberals.
RELATED: Project 2025 Targets America’s Wild Horses and Burros?
The Preliminary EA for the Antelope-Triple B pest control plan states at the top of page 169 that “The WFRHBA of 1971 specifically provides for contraception and sterilization (16 U.S.C. 1333 section 3.b.1).” [It’s actually 16 USC 1333(b)(1), a comment you can submit on the EA.]
A keyword search of the statute yielded these results:
There is no warrant for the application of PZP and GonaCon Equine unless those products are used for sterilization.
Application to slow population growth, the oft-cited reason for their use, is not covered.
In the discussion of the effects of PZP on ovaries, the EA states at the bottom of page 177 that “…if some number of mares become sterile as a result of PZP treatment, that potential result would be consistent with the contraceptive purpose that motivates BLM’s potential use of the vaccine, and with Congressional guidance that condones such treatment in the management of wild horses and burros, in WFRHBA section 1333(b),” suggesting that sterility is a goal, not an unintended consequence of its use, as stated previously.
RELATED: Antelope-Triple B Preliminary EA Out for Review.
The advocates are obsessed with nonmotorized removal, which they express several different ways:
Their allies in Congress recently formed a pesticide caucus.
Everything points to mass sterilization as a humane alternative to motorized removal with the goal of ranching superiority in the lawful homes of wild horses.
The advocates know that most of the mares are nonviable, a condition they caused, and the herd is toast.
No big deal if their contract isn’t renewed, they can go elsewhere and ruin another herd or find jobs with the legacy contractors.
The group claiming that the state’s new plan will destroy the herd is, in fact, destroying the herd.
The group that says any other contractor hired by the state will eradicate the herd is, in fact, eradicating the herd.
The group that says the herd will become extinct if they aren’t allowed to manage it is, in fact, driving it to extinction.
RELATED: As the Noose Tightens Around SRWHDG, Will CAAWH Hang Them Out to Dry?
The Proposed Action, discussed in Section 2.4 of the EA, features motorized removal, application of fertility control pesticides and sex ratio skewing.
Creation of a new HMAP is still in the project scope. Refer to Appendix XIII.
The comment period ends on June 29 according to the news release.
The project supports three tenets of rangeland management.
The Decision Record authorizes Alternative II, the Proposed Action, discussed in Section 2.2 of the Final EA.
Approximately 3,371 wild horses will be removed from Herd Areas formerly known as the Great Divide Basin, Salt Wells Creek and Adobe Town HMAs.
There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range. The goal is 100% removal, which may take several years to achieve.
The project folder also includes a summary of public comments.
The incident is on the latest schedule with a start date of July 15.
AMLs in the affected areas were reduced to zero as a result of legal action taken by the Rock Springs Grazing Association.
RELATED: Draft EA for Rock Springs Wild Horse Removal Out for Review.
Have you ever wanted to soak in a hot tub, hang out with wild burros and camp in a BLM grazing allotment?
You can do all three at Spencer Hot Springs near Austin, NV.
The ArcGIS Viewer puts it in the Hickison HMA, which is overlapped by the Simpson Park Allotment.
This YouTube video tells you how to get there.
The news release about a public lands closure in Oregon says that dispersed camping for up to 14 days is generally allowed on BLM lands.
The 40-acre parcel straddles Highway 97 northeast of Bend, OR and has been put off limits due to health, safety and environmental concerns arising from unauthorized long-term non-recreational camping.
The ArcGIS Viewer indicates it’s SE 1/4 NE 1/4 S34 T16S R12E.
The news release did not give the immigration status of the unauthorized campers.
Western Horse Watchers Association 