Review Of Proposals To The Bureau Of Land Management On Wild Horse And Burro Sterilization Or Contraception

As a follow-up to the 2013 report Using Science to Improve the Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward, this letter report reviews research project proposals submitted to the Bureau of Land Management and aimed at developing new or refining existing techniques and establishing protocols for the contraception or permanent sterilization of either male or female wild horses and/or burros in the field. Review of Proposals to the Bureau of Land Management on Wild Horse and Burro Sterilization or Contraception considers factors related to the scientific validity of the proposed technique(s), goals and objectives of the work, research methodology and design of the study, proposed statistical analysis and interpretation of anticipated data obtained, animal welfare implications and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approvals, feasibility, as well as the qualifications, expertise, and experience of the investigators. This report ranks the proposals in order of merit and provides a brief report on additional factors for the Bureau of Land Management to consider in selecting proposals to fund.

Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward reviews the science that underpins the Bureau of Land Management's oversight of free-ranging horses and burros on federal public lands in the western United States, concluding that constructive changes could be implemented. The Wild Horse and Burro Program has not used scientifically rigorous methods to estimate the population sizes of horses and burros, to model the effects of management actions on the animals, or to assess the availability and use of forage on rangelands. Evidence suggests that horse populations are growing by 15 to 20 percent each year, a level that is unsustainable for maintaining healthy horse populations as well as healthy ecosystems. Promising fertility-control methods are available to help limit this population growth, however. In addition, science-based methods exist for improving population estimates, predicting the effects of management practices in order to maintain genetically diverse, healthy populations, and estimating the productivity of rangelands. Greater transparency in how science-based methods are used to inform management decisions may help increase public confidence in the Wild Horse and Burro Program.