I think there is a way to give mares shots that would work as birth control for "X" number of years. Perhaps this would be a better way, plus gelding the young stallions.
I don't like how the BLM is handling the mustangs. They're trying to tame the wild, but that's just not right! Mustangs have a right to be free, and I think America realized that more in 1971 than now.
I think the population of free wild horses numbers less than 25,000 now due to all the roundups and removals. The BLM seems to be using outdated numbers. There are over 41,000 in government holding facilites. ALL cruel and costly roundups and removals need to stop now before these equines are extinct. The millions of cattle on public lands were found to destroy the range and riparian areas by the 1990-91 GAO study and NOT wild horses. The BLM is breaking the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act that mandated the protection and preservation of our American wild horses and burros. This atrocity must stop now.
This article is incorrect - the BLM is still going to remove 90% of the horses in this area starting on September 1 but they are NOT going to castrate all the stallions that will be released - please read the BLM document: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/news_room/2011/august/05rsfo-wmlc.html
The whole BLM organization is out of date and using invalid figures. Give the mares their "pill" and leave the stallions be. The cattle, in that area, should also be removed or reduced by the percentage of the Mustangs. That won't happen, with the Mustangs gone, more cattle/sheep will roam the Mustangs Lands.
I just read the article that Carol posted. They are removing almost all the mustangs and releasing the stallions back into the wild. It's going to be a strange ratio. What's wrong with gelding them?
You unfortunately have your facts incorrect here. I was one of the plaintiffs on the lawsuit. The BLM backed down on its plans to geld all the stallions returned to the range but they did NOT cancel the roundup. They started the roundup yesterday and only 177 will be retuned to the range but they will not be sterilizing the herd, which is a victory but 696 horses will still lose their homes and their freedom.