Wyoming: Wild horse stakeholders discuss fertility control, public land use and herd management

BoiseStatePublicRadio.org - Full Story

Wyoming Public Radio | By Caitlin Tan
Published June 28, 2022 at 5:37 PM MDT

As part of Wyoming Public Media’s ‘I respectfully disagree’ series, four panelists discussed issues surrounding wild horses in the state on a Facebook live.

Stakeholders spoke for an hour about topics like herd management, fertility control and holding facilities.

The panelists were Suzanne Roy, the executive director of the American Wild Horse Campaign; Brian Boner, a Wyoming senator representing District 2; Christi Chapman, the director and co-founder of Wyoming Wild Horse Improvement Partnership; and Erik Molvar, the executive director of the Western Watersheds Project.

One issue the panelists focused on was whether cattle or wild horses should have priority on public lands...

Read more here:
https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/environment/2022-06-28/wild-horse-stakeholders-discuss-fertility-control-public-land-use-and-herd-management

Wild Horse Flu Outbreak Update

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

Over 145 mustangs being held in a holding facility died of equine flu because it was short-staffed and the horses were “high-strung".

By: Kim Izzo | June 8, 2022

In what can only be described as a preventable tragedy, over 145 wild mustangs have died in Colorado from equine influenza, a respiratory illness that can lead to pneumonia. Vaccinations can protect both domestic and wild animals; however, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) who is in charge of the care of the mustangs, has admitted that at the Cañon City facility, horses were not vaccinated due to staff shortages and the claim that the horses were “unusually high-strung.” They’re wild horses ‒ high-strung is a given.

According to an in-depth report by The Colorado Sun, the official BLM policy is purportedly to “freeze-brand and de-worm mustangs within 30 days of capture and vaccinate them as soon as possible based on the advice of a veterinarian.” However, an animal welfare team investigating the deaths, which included three BLM officials and a veterinarian from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “found the federal agency was noncompliant on 13 policies. Besides being behind on vaccinations, the team noted the facility was behind on trimming hooves every six months as required and that horses did not always get freeze-marked within 30 days...”

Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/horse-news/wild-horse-flu-outbreak-update/