But why the need for fertility control at all? #wildhorses in the U.S. no longer have free-range over vast western rangelands. Instead, pursuant to the Wild Horse Act (1971), they are confined to Herd Management Areas (HMAs) or Wild Horse Territories (WHTs) on public lands.
The fed gov manages these areas for "multiple uses" such as livestock grazing, oil & gas extraction & mining, & recreation. The conditions that America's mustangs live in today are anything but natural. #wildhorse pops also continue to be disrupted by roundups & removals.
Thus, #wildhorses and burros must compete on our public lands with other uses backed by powerful economic interests. Under these circumstances, the idea of natural regulation is just that: an idea that is unfortunately divorced from reality.
Although mountain lions and wolves can & do prey on wild horse foals, due to hunting and government predator “control” or kill programs, these species are not present in sufficient numbers to regulate wild horse pops, except in a small number of areas.
In short, in our work to secure a fair share of resources for #wildhorses on public lands we deal with modern realities. The answer today is safe, humane PZP fertility control as an alternative to the current mgmt approach of roundup & removal. #keepwildhorseswild
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