Wild Horse Populations Field Studies in Genetics and Fertility: Report to the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior (1991) / Chapter Skim
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RESEARCH CONCERNS
RESEARCH CONCERNS
Pages 23-35
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From page 23... ...
Concerns about the conduct of field research activities have been addressed in the following five areas: • Loss of the Clan Alpine horses; • Problems and injury with the marker and radio collars; • Foal orphaning and loss during roundups and aerial surveys; • Abortion; and • Disappearance of the penned animals at the Lovelock corrals. To an extent, these concerns reflect differing views of the ethical acceptability of the methods used to study population control in wild and freeroaming horses.
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From page 24... ...
Between September 17 and October 30, 48 horses were found dead on the Clan Alpine side of the boundary fence. These included 17 radiocollared animals, 11 animals with marker collars, and 20 unmarked animals.
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From page 25... ...
; the other 540 adult horses were fitted with marker collars. The radio-collared animals were part of the two fertility control studies.
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From page 26... ...
Three additional radio collars slipped off animals in the field. In all, 23 animals were lost from the experimental population due to collar removal or loss.
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From page 27... ...
The research team attributed the problems with tight collars at Stone Cabin to rapid weight gains. They stated that forage conditions were favorable, contraception was effective, and the animals experienced significant increases in body fat.
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From page 28... ...
Since October 1988, another six tight collars have been removed from the horses at the Stone Cabin study area. Monitoring The condition of the study animals and the fit of the collars are monitored from the air during the four census-taking flights scheduled as part of the original study design.
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From page 29... ...
Dr. Cheryl Asa, an animal behavior researcher from the University of Minnesota, told the committee that her field observations of vasectomized and control stallions in the Flanigan and Beaty Butte sites indicated that the collars themselves did not seem to impede normal behavior significantly and did not compromise the animals.
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From page 30... ...
Four other animals died during collaring procedures, and two more with collars were found dead but their deaths were classified as "other." It is not known whether these last six animals were wearing radio or marker collars. The number of mares from which radio and marker collars were removed and not replaced and the number of collared animals that died total 76, or 9 percent of the number originally collared.
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From page 31... ...
The collar problems have been attributed to various causes, which include: the design of the collars; the material and construction of the collars; irritation caused by the radio units; tight or loose fitting collars; natural growth of young horses; rapid weight gain because of abundant forage; abnormal weight gain as a result of the hormone implants; and difficulty in making fine adjustments at the first collar fitting. Most observers agree that most of the neck injuries were related to the radio units.
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From page 32... ...
In such cases, the foals might be permanently separated from the mares at ages too young to survive on their own. Prior to the committee's 1988 meeting in Reno, Nevada, the committee conveyed concerns to the research team arising from aerial monitoring and the associated risk of foal orphaning and death.
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From page 33... ...
The committee remains concerned about the possibility that the monitoring flights may be causing foal orphaning or loss, and urges that the research team proceed with caution. From the standpoint of the research protocol, both placebo- and steroid-implanted mares are equally at risk.
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From page 34... ...
were similar to the foaling rates of the untreated, marker-collared animals that were not approached closely by helicopter (47 percent)
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From page 35... ...
The dosage trials in the Lovelock corrals were undertaken with estradiol, a natural estrogen that is chemically broken down by the digestive process if consumed by an animal. The first dosages administered were not effective.
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