That is a good question!
If the image above is upsetting to you, that is one of the reasons why the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, ND need a wild horse management plan. That photo was taken on 1/15/2022 at Theodore Roosevelt National Park of a mare that obviously has been darted with GonaCon possibly sometime within the few last months. THAT is what has created what the people who have created the dart system and GonaCon dose refer to as a “slight abscess at the injection site”.
Before we begin, we would like to make it clear that we DO believe that the horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park SHOULD be given birth control. Our objection is to the way that Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) management working alongside Colorado State University (CSU) have been giving birth control to our mares. There has never been any rhyme or reason to who was given birth control, there are many indications that mares have been permanently sterilized as a result of the ongoing experimentation and we now know that the because of the “study” on the horses in TRNP, CSU has been able to develop a “one and done” shot of GonaCon that can permanently sterilize mares with just one dose! We also know that CSU will use this information as they continue their partnership with the BLM and take their new GonaCon “vaccine” to the western range.
Now, back to the topic of the long awaited and highly anticipated Wild Horse Management Plan for the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The simple truth is that 66 years ago, when the TRNP park management realized that there were wild horses within the park boundaries AND they agreed to allow the horses to stay, there should have been a plan to manage the horses. That happened back in 1956. To date, there has never been a formal wild horse management plan written – at least not one that can be accessed by the public. There ARE documents that the park uses IN PLACE OF a wild horse management plan, but they are NOT wild horse management plans and were not produced in the same way that a wild horse management plan is required by National Park Service standards.
IF there was a wild horse management plan in place, Colorado State University would not have been allowed to experiment on our horses to test the effects of the pesticide GonaCon as a method of birth control for 11+ years!
IF there was a wild horse management plan in place, there would be specific plans for administering birth control, that was agreed upon by the taxpaying public, instead of the parks current plan to give EVERY female horse aged 8 months old and up birth control.
IF there was a wild horse management plan in place, TRNP management and CSU would NOT have been allowed to perfect their development of a remote dart system that can be used on the western range, where they cannot be as close to the horses. It is that new, larger dart coupled with the desired dosage of GonaCon, that is leaving marks like these on the treated mares in TRNP.
IF there was a wild horse management plan in place, we would not be sitting here wondering and worrying if the wild horses of TRNP are part of the “research” being funded by the BLM to the tune of $238,281 to perfect the one dose permanent sterilization of GonaCon. You can view the report in the library section of our website or here https://search.usa.gov/search?query=BLM+Wild+Horse+and+Burro+Research+Background+Materials+for+Advisory+Board%2C+June+2021&affiliate=blm.govdrupal&op=Submit
There are many other facts that support our concerns regarding why a wild horse management plan should be in place. It is safe to say that Theodore Roosevelt Park management is also aware of that they SHOULD have a wild horse management plan in place. Their standard answer to WHEN they would begin working on a wild horse management plan hasn’t changed in over 50 years: “We will begin working on the new wild horse management plan in the next 2-3 years.” The current timeline, as stated on TRNP’s wild horse “portal” states: “The NPS will be initiating a new horse management planning process during fall of 2021. Updates on timelines will be posted on the portal.”
Once again, the public and the wild horses of TRNP are left to wait for the management of Theodore Roosevelt National Park to simply do their job, per their NPS regulations, that they should have done 66 years ago.