8/12/2019 Dr. Samson Response

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After we forwarded an article disputing contraceptive efficiency within the wild horse herds, to Dr.

Samson-French, she was kind enough to prepare this statement in response;

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Yes seen it before - talked it all over with Dr Jay Kirkpatrick - he has

lots of peer-reviewed research on this and negating it. Can they pleaseshow their data on this? Getting so tedious, here it is:

The main point is that wild mares are in poor shape and do not go in

repeated estrus cycles like our regular owned mares. The wild ones often

cycle only once or twice during the season as cycling is dictated by body

fat....So not a concern for us.

As to being out of phase if contraception is stopped, again we are dealing

with mares in northern latitudes with very obvious increasing day

lengths, not the case when you get south, such as in the desert. So in my

talk to ESRD, I mentioned that since we have no data for wild horses inAlberta, the closest ones we can rely on would be from Montana, and

even there, they certainly don't have the snow fall and range conditions

as we do here.

I am running out of time and energy to answer on Facebook ill thought

material. I think I have done my best to bring to the forefront that

annual culls as performed by ESRD are ineffective and inhumane. If culls

are to be conducted, big if (but it will be hard for ESRD to concede on

this permanently, or when needed, it will be too late to consider

contraception as it takes a year to get going - no abortion wanted!), then

contraception is the obviousalternative. Plus no culls can occur while doing a pilot project for 3

years, hence giving everyone a pregnant pause to get data and consider

other options - how much better can it get really?

Running out of steam dealing with people that are bent on finding faults

with everything and not proposing anything humane and effective. Was on

the rez today, residents are sooooo grateful for contraception program.

Working on the biggest contraception program in world in Northern Canada,

again First Nations so want this, and here we are struggling in Alberta

with the word contraception in wild horses....ouf!

BTW, will check but I don't think that "science publishing group" is

peer-reviewed, ie anyone can write an article without the scrutiny of

other scientists. IE, opinions, not facts, can't rely on that!

Judith Samson-French DVM

CVMA Humane Award 2013