​U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), a longtime member of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, today led a letter to House Leadership requesting it retain his Interior and Environment appropriations amendment requiring the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to utilize $11 million in funding for humane, reversible fertility control for tens of thousands of wild horses and burros under the BLM’s protection. The letter reads in part: 

“We write to urge your continued support for the humane and sustainable management of wild horses and burros on our public lands. To that end, we request dedicated funding in any final spending package for the implementation of humane, proven and reversible fertility control, namely the porcine zona pellucida (PZP) immunocontraceptive vaccine by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). We are pleased this amendment to support this effort was adopted by voice vote in the House of Representatives as part of its Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill.”  CLICK HERE to read the entire letter. 

In addition to Rep. Cohen, 21 Congress members co-signed today’s letter including; U.S. Representatives Vern Buchanan, Salud Carbajal, Gerald E. Connolly, Peter DeFazio, Ted Deutch, Brian Fitzpatrick, Raúl M. Grijalva, Deb Haaland, Alcee L. Hastings, John Katko, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Barbara Lee, Ted W. Lieu, Carolyn B. Maloney, Joe Neguse, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Jan Schakowsky, David Schweikert, Adam Smith and Dina Titus.

Last July the U.S. House passed Cohen's amendment which would require the Bureau of Land Management's FY21 budget to utilize $11 million of its Wild Horse and Burro Program budget to implement PZP humane, reversible fertility control to manage wild horse populations. There was only one U.S. House member who vocalized opposition to the amendment: Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT), who is a leading architect and signatory of the nefarious, "10 Years to AML, Path Forward" plan. CLICK HERE for more info on Stewart's attempt to block funding for PZP. 

The Bureau of Land Management plans to test a controversial sterilization method on wild mares in Utah that's a key part of a herd-reduction strategy the agency is trying to implement. The agency's strategy incorporates much of the 10 Years to AML agenda, which calls for the mass round-up of wild horses and a "panoply" of fertility control methods. The sterilization technique proposed for the Utah herd is called ovariectomy via colpotomy, which involves removing the ovaries from mares. BLM has stepped up efforts, particularly in the past six months, to round up wild horses and to test longer-range fertility control methods.

​In a decision record issued this week, BLM approved a plan to round up as many as 590 wild horses from the Confusion Herd Management Area in Utah. The 235,000-acre HMA has about 661 wild horses, and BLM wants to bring that number down to within the so-called appropriate management level of about 70 animals. The first of what could be several wild horse "gathers" could start next month.

Michael Gates, acting manager of BLM's West Desert District in Utah, wrote in his decision record that previous research has shown "strong evidence that this method can be used by BLM in wild horse management, with an acceptable level of safety for people and treated horses." Without the use of sterilization, Gates added, BLM would likely need to remove wild horses from the Confusion HMA "every 3 to 5 years" to keep populations under control. Challenges to the plan can be filed to the Interior Board of Land Appeals—and appeals are likely.

​Most advocacy groups and a number of congressional Democrats, including House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, favor expanding the use of porcine zona pellucida, or PZP. While effective, the vaccine renders mares infertile for about a year.

Source: E&E News

​​The effort to require the Bureau of Land Management to implement a humane management strategy for America's wild horses with the immunocontraception, porcine zona pellucida (PZP), advanced through a FY21 U.S. House spending bill.  

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) offered an amendment to the “State, Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Rural Development, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act”, which would mandate that at least $11M of the Bureau of Land Management’s FY21 wild horse and burro budget be allocated to administering PZP to mustangs on the range.

​Cosponsors of Cohen's amendment:
U.S. Representatives; Dina Titus (D-NM), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), David Schweikert (R-AZ), David Price (D-NC), Peter King (R-NY), Deb Haaland (D-NM), John Katko (R-NY), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Ben McAdams (D-UT).

Opposition:
By a vast majority, the U.S. House passed the amendment, but it did meet with one outspoken voice of opposition: Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT). Stewart, who is a leading architect of the misguided and reckless, “Path Forward, 10 Years to AML agenda” for wild horses, decried the amendment. He stated on the U.S. House Floor, "While I appreciate the gentleman's concern for wild horses, it will end up hurting more than it helps." Stewart went on to say, “The amendment seeks to push PZP contraceptive. The only problem with that is it doesn't work.” 

​​​It’s extremely troubling that Rep. Stewart attempted to sabotage the amendment, especially as his 10 Years to AML agenda partners include the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), and Return to Freedom (RTF). All three of these organizations support the use of PZP. In fact, HSUS holds the registrant for PZP under the name “ZonaStat-H” for use on wild horses and burros, ASPCA has provided financial support for PZP research and development, and RTF successfully utilizes PZP on the wild horses residing at their sanctuary. 

The next hurdle for the $11M mandate on PZP use will be in the U.S. Senate's FY 2021 spending bill that will be drafted and voted on in the next few months.