Trump admin pushes to annihilate this wild horse herd on 9/11 . . . public widely opposes

[in2herbs]

17. The sterilization of wild horse mares is not the same as sterilizing a domesticated pet. Here's

some info if the BLM is using PZP, porcine zone pellucida, to sterilize mares in wild horse herds, a procedure they were doing even before 2012:

Under the direction of the Humane Society of the United States a non-invasive sterilization vaccine called PZP is currently being tested on mares in the wild. PZP is a protein-like substance existing in the embryos of female pigs. Thus, the vaccine introduces a substance into the horse that the horse’s body does not produce on its own and that the horse does not consume as part of its diet. PZP “sterilizes” the mare by stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies against the vaccine and then bind the sperm to the egg’s surface. After five to seven years of immunocontraception vaccinations this procedure “sterilizes” by causing “ovulation failure.” Ovulation failure leaves mares permanently sterile without having undergone invasive sterilization procedures. Considering that mares can become pregnant in their yearling spring – before their first birthday – to be truly effective at controlling the birth rate of wild horses the vaccine would have to be given to yearlings and then yearly after that for a prior of five or more years. However, a medical treatment span of just four to five years is recommended when using PZP and no vaccination is recommended at all on yearling mares.

The effect of this PZP sterilization process is said to be reversible after four to five years of treatment. But no return to fertility is expected after seven years of vaccination therapy.

Some horse activists believe that the BLM’s policy to control the population of wild horses through various sterilization techniques will, in fact, lead to the extinction of the present wild horse population.

While we wait to see the long-term effects of PZP on wild horse herds it is important to note that some of the same horse organizations that favor the use of PZP also applauded other abusive practices such as the decades-old practice of breeding horses for a heavier body and smaller feet, especially the Quarter Horse and Arabian breed.