Action Alert – Please Take Action and Pass it On

Tell the President of Oregon State University to Stop Pregnant Wild Mare Experiments

Do you want to make a difference for our wild horses?

You can do that right now by calling or sending an email to the President of Oregon State University, telling him that we do not want wild mares to undergo cruel and barbaric sterilization experimentation by Oregon State University’s Veterinary School using funding from the Bureau of Land Management at BLM’s Short Term Holding Facility in Hines, Oregon.

If you have already sent comments to the BLM, they are NOT listening to us. In fact, yesterday I spoke with Lisa Grant who is the BLM lead on the Mare Sterilization Research EA, and she told me that the thousands of form letters sent by AWHPC are being counted as 1 comment. That’s right – 1 comment. The only comments that are counted are those that people sent directly, separately, in their own words, and there were 670 of those.

The BLM is still planning to go ahead with this cruel and completely unnecessary sterilization research which includes dangerous experimentation on pregnant mares despite the outcry of the American public. They plan to publish their Decision Record and Findings of No Significant Impact on April 15. This will be the plan that they will use going forward, and the BLM is going to use this sterilization research as a template for sterilizing our wild horses on the range. This needs to be stopped now.

Here is the documentation on the project:

https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/projectSummary.do?methodName=renderDefaultProjectSummary&projectId=56292

Here is a portion of Don Moore, DVM’s comments. He is a respected Veterinarian who has extensive knowledge about wild horses and wild horse behavior. He has given permission to post his comments so that you use them in making your own comments. I encourage you to read his comments in their entirety here:

https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/DonMooreCommentsOregonSpayProposal.pdf

“The three surgical procedures for permanent sterilization of mares described in the mare sterilization research project, ovariectomy via colopotomy, tubal ligation and hysteroscopically-guided laser ablation of the oviduct papilla all require certain pre-operative and post-operative considerations for aseptic surgical protocol and pain management. Pre-operative bloodwork and a thorough examination are always performed on the relatively few domestic mares which are spayed. Other options other than surgery are always considered first due to the risk involved with any of these procedures. Aseptic surgical protocol and pain management is the standard of care for each and every surgery or the performing veterinarian would undoubtedly be sued by the owner and reprimanded by the state veterinary board.

Wild mares will not have their surgeries performed in a sterile surgical suite. Their surgery will be performed in a non-sterile chute or standing in stocks at the local BLM facility without benefit of routine standard of care. Unlike domestic mares who are easily handled, the very handling of these wild mares presents additional pre-operative stressors, which cannot be mitigated.

BLM does not possess the statutory authority to treat America’s wild free roaming mares as research test subjects to perform surgeries which are not the standard of care for domestic mares.

Case in point, is a photograph of Dr. Leon Pielstick as he was beginning to perform a surgery attired in bibs used predominately for working cattle and performing the surgery with a non-sterile plastic sleeve that is used to pregnancy check cattle. This is not acceptable for a domestic mare, why wild mares? To learn this procedures has been performed on some of the Sheldon wild mares, undoubtedly in a similar manner, is gross negligence and inhumane on the part of the Department of Interior and the veterinarians who performed the surgery in less than aseptic conditions.

This type of trial and error butchery is a violation of the least feasible management clause of the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act.”

“Mass experimental surgeries performed under these conditions outlined in the proposal, amounts to negligence and abuse. I believe experiments such as this proposal are unethical, inhumane and unwarranted. Any veterinarian(s) who would perform these experiments is in violation of the oath taken as a graduating veterinarian, “above all else, do no harm”. If a veterinarian in private practice performed these procedures in the manner described in this document they would most certainly be reported to and disciplined by the regulatory board of that state. Discipline would likely mean suspension of that veterinarian’s license to practice in that state.”

Please comment BEFORE the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting on April 13, 14.

Please make comments in your own words – you are welcome to use the information in this post and in Don Moore’s letter. Please be respectful in your comments to President Edward Ray of Oregon State University – we want to persuade him to do the right thing. And remember that these wild horses belong to us, the American public, not the BLM.

You may call his office at: 541-737-4133

Fax: 541-737-3033

and email here: http://leadership.oregonstate.edu/user/66/contact

Here is his page:

http://leadership.oregonstate.edu/people/edward-ray

If you have the time to reach out to more people at Oregon State University, here is a list:

Dean of the Veterinary College: susan.tornquist@oregonstate.edu

The Board of Trustees: trustees@oregonstate.edu

V.P. Relations and Marketing: steve.clark@oregonstate.edu

V.P. Research: link to email form at:http://leadership.oregonstate.edu/people/cynthia-sagers

Alumni Association: Alumuni Association Board Members: http://www.osualum.com/s/359/index.aspx?sid=359&gid=1001&pgid=298

Thank you for caring about our wild horses. They are sentient, feeling beings, and they deserve to be treated with care and respect.

Press Release Here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/WildHorseFreedomRelease412016.pdf

Related Posts:

http://rtfitchauthor.com/2016/02/07/4-major-wild-horse-burro-advocacy-groups-come-out-against-blms-cruel-plans-to-do-sterilization-research-on-wild-mares-mon-feb-8th/

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/marti-oakley/2016/01/21/whbr-carol-walker-the-blm-plans-to-field-sterilize-wild-mares?AID=CJSource&utm_source=CJ&PID=3662453