Research and Written by — John Cox, Cascades
Wild Horses have a permanent place on our Public Lands, within our minds, as well as legally.  The truth is our nation’s icons, Wild Horses on our Public Lands, are being wiped out by industrialists, by welfare ranchers with their cattle and sheep, by hunters, and ironically non-profit charitable organizations advocating animals’ protection, but abusing them by darting, or use of breed controls, based upon industry and their lies about wild horse over-population.

Our forecast of this: Pesticide Positioning will become a paramount problem, as it is being handled by those who lie, are incompetent, as well as low IQ’s . . . Stands to reason, these same people would assume Pesticides used as breed-controls, would, or even could, “save” Wild Horses, or anything else, for that matter.  Grifters and thieves take advantage of these types of people, all the way to the bank!

These are people that wave the American Flag, yet hypocritical, as the fact of wiping out an icon such as the Wild Horses, apparently paramount and on their minds, for their special interests, or in particular, their monetary interests . . .  Ethics and Federal Laws tossed-out the window when it comes to money $$$ and influencing their life style.

With a solid-ground, observable by their actions, of pathological mind-sets, and soon we have more and more threats, real threats, to our nation’s Food-Supply, and what is also referred to, as well, Federal Lands. The Bureau of Land Management and the USDA Forestry are not, and never have done so, managed these lands competently; that is, there is no Lands Management paradigm associated with longevity nor competence, when coming to actually Public Lands Oversight.  This also includes Regulatory Oversight, which is accomplished hardly ever, and the Federal Laws that seek proper management over these lands, simply not enforced — what so ever.  Now we are looking at the result of No Oversight, no situation of Law Enforcement, and this develops into a drastic situation – Contamination of our Food-Supply, reaching dangerous levels  . . .

1. In Louisiana, 17 cows died after an hour’s exposure to spilled fracking fluid, which is injected miles underground to crack open and release pockets of natural gas. The most likely cause of death: respiratory failure.
2. In New Mexico, hair testing of sick cattle that grazed near well pads found petroleum residues in 54 of 56 animals.
3. In northern central Pennsylvania, 140 cattle were exposed to fracking wastewater when an impoundment was breached. Approximately 70 cows died, and the remainder produced only 11 calves, of which three survived.
4. In western Pennsylvania, an overflowing wastewater pit sent fracking chemicals into a pond and a pasture where pregnant cows grazed: Half their calves were born dead. Dairy operators in shale-gas areas of Colorado, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Texas have also reported the death of goats.

This was just the noteworthy beginnings from years back, and we see many more dead Wild Horses on our rangelands where Law is clear – their home lands, their Foals dead, Stallions left to bleed-out after castration, or horses shot and killed, and ALL on the Rangelands, the Mountains, the flat-Lands and valleys, and mostly where there is Energy sites, Fracking sites, overpopulation’s of cattle, pasture lands, and many areas where industry or agricultural pesticides used, fertilizers used, and growth hormones used, and pesticides for particular breed-control of wildlife species, — The truth is, the wildlife are being wiped out or darted with poisons.  These same animals are actually needed within Ecological Zones to provide health and longevity within our Wilderness and Natural areas . . . Our Nation’s Public Lands are not managed properly, and have not been, and for quite some time now.

Intermixed, this all could be a very dangerous cocktail for all human’s and animals alike – the pollution, extraordinary – and direct-effects to our nation’s food-chain elements, water, and air become very dangerous to all. These government agencies, when confronted with these situations, simply raise the —

“Acceptable Limits of Regulatory Oversight”, then stating everything is okay and it is simply “Fringe-Elements” creating havoc and unrest . . . Our nation’s grasslands, grains, and meat supply remain poisoned or contaminated with human-made pollutants, which over-flows into water supplies both surface and underground supplies, and on it goes . . . The chain-of-events in place, and there is essentially nothing, or no one, stopping it.

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION

In 1957, a research scientist named McConnell noted that the “development of oil and gas resources, as well as pesticides used in prime cattle lands, combined with changes in technologies, have brought unexpected hazards for which a precedent has not been established and toxicological information is not available.” 

Unfortunately, this gap in knowledge remains quite large even today, where truth is nothing more than a joke to industrialists, bankers, commercialized non-profits, and government agencies alike.  But we do see interesting developments, in attempts at covering-up some of these tragic events, and from the Bureau of Land Management, as well as our nation’s USDA Forestry.  Many of us in the field, find more and more dead wildlife and livestock; ironically, it is inclusive of cattle, sheep, wild horses, Elk, deer, and such small critters as raccoons, skunks, and other rodents, and many more species.

What these animals have in common, is the fact Keystone Predators as well as insect predators, have no interest in these dead animals, at all.  Maggots, normally on sun-rotted meat, simply are not there, and over days an untouched bloated carcass, as well as some having exploded, and nothing – no predation, neither specialty insects nor maggots.

To say this is not-normal, is a truth beyond all other truth, or deceptions to cover it all up.  Then suspicions become of paramount significance, and we start to search for consistencies. . . out of necessity, to keep our food-chain wholesome, and to save our Wild Horses at the same time (i.e. among other wildlife), who in today’s convoluted government management ideologies, get the blame for it all.

When the Wild Horses destroyed, and sent to extinction, our civilization soon to follow, a metaphor conclusive in “fact” and sadly to us all, of noticeable proportion . . . The outright greed and corruption we find in government agencies, as well as commercialized non-profits, and industry on Our Public Lands — well — the signs evident, and the situations ongoing at present, need stopped sooner, rather than — before it is too late.

Ironically, and what we find in remote areas on our rangelands and forests, Wild Horses, to include a Mare’s Foals (many observations of such), are not only left untouched, on rangelands or in the mountains, but not even so much as a track around the bodies from a cougar, from a bear, from wolves or bobcats.  The poisoned, and radio-active bodies (and other poisons and pesticides et al.) wildlife can scent in the air — the “red-alert” to all others — Stay Away; except humans . . . profits the rule of order with human’s . . .

Exposed livestock “. . . are making their way into the food system, and it’s very worrisome to us,” another Research Biologist, Bamberger, says. “They live in areas that have tested positive for air, water, and soil contamination. Some of these chemicals appear in milk and meat products made from these animals.”

WILDERNESS AREAS CONTAMINATION

Pesticide poisoning to wildlife may result from acute or chronic exposure, via secondary exposure or through indirect effects to the animal.  This is why regulatory measures set in place to “regulate the handling” and the areas where it can be used (although, we find today, ignored by those who Dart Wild Horses with the Pesticides PZP and GONACON — then pretend Pesticide Positioning does not exist, labeling it Equine Flu most often — yes, a cover up, and currently getting into our water and food supplies) – when neglected, in truth harmful activity develops . . . which is a reality the ignorant, or bias folks that make their profits from the use of Pesticides — folks like to set-aside and pretend all of this simply does not exist.  Mostly used in Breed Control, or falsified “Over-Population” decrease — we conclude, from observation as well as logistical lands mass and wildlife availability, that pesticides damage ecosystems, damage or harm to non-target plants and animals, decrease bio diversity, decline populations or even cause extinction of species i.e. Wild Horses and any other predator or hooved animal on their way out as I write this today.

Besides this pesticide “Mess Up” — food chains and webs infected, but also simply disrupt the natural balance in ecosystems; therefore, it is necessary that a strict vigil should be maintained during pest control operations, to minimize the after effects of pesticides and to save the environment and natural balance in ecosystem, which we discover is “ignored” most often . . . ignorance at its very worst, poisoning Our Nation’s Food-Chain . . . and no one admits it — but they all know, how could they not know?  Oh yes, the responsibility of knowledge placed into the hands of low IQ government employees, and those commercialized non-profits who, in reality, really know nothing about Wild Horses or Wildlife in general.  All Profit Based, no common sense or responsibility given or taken, by these same people.

Over the past few years, we have seen the Pesticide PZP and Pesticide GONACON, used in wilderness areas as well as ecological zones, and used irresponsibly.  We find, in the United States and in Canada, the “darts and containers” of this Pesticide (e.g. a bag of 43 darting containers and darts tossed into a creek, in Oregon, and also the same amount found in Canada Creek-side, and in Nevada as well, near water outlets and in rangelands where horses’ Darted), in areas where testing of this pesticide were simply not done – sales the motivation and not safety, but rather waived, as EPA Forms show us quite distinctly.

Again, yet another situation, similar to oil and energy situations stated above, and currently adding the use of breed controls, registered as Pesticides, found more and more in wilderness areas – i.e. wild horses, believe it or not, were reintroduced congressionally, as pests and as livestock, and we find the Humane Society of the United Sates as well as supposed commercialized non-profit charitable organizations, not only supported these endeavors, then lied also about the Wild Horses population on our Public lands, then using Pesticides for Birth Rate Controls – so much for the “charitable” designation and what it used to mean within the non-profit world!  Today it means “profits” over all else, and that includes over integrity, as well as ethics, sadly. . .

In birds, exposure can impact the bird’s ability to sing and therefore decrease its chances of successfully attracting a mate or establishing a territory, impacts the birds care for its young, causing the nestling to starve.  Some pesticides are endocrine disrupters, causes failure of development in organism, reproduction behavior, immune system and neurological problems, as well as the development of cancer.  Researchers have found that the toxic effects of low-level combinations of certain chemical pesticides can be greater than the sum of the effect of the individual components.  Studies show a range of altered behaviors including mating and parenting, nest building, activity level, predator avoidance and foraging.

Pesticides may impact wildlife through secondary poisoning when an animal consumes prey species that contain pesticide residues e.g.  Birds of prey becoming sick after feeding on an animal, that is dead or dying from acute exposure to a pesticide, and the accumulation and movement of persistent chemicals in wildlife food chain.

Pesticides may also impact wildlife indirectly when a part of its habitat or food supply is modified, e.g. pesticides may reduce food, cover, and nesting sites needed by insect, bird and mammal population; insecticides may diminish insect populations fed on by bird or fish species; insect pollinators may be reduced, thereby affecting plant pollination.  Honey bees are important pollinators of many food crops. Pollination is vital to food production; approximately one third of all human food production is dependent on pollinators. Researchers found that due to insecticidal impact, estimated pollution by honey bees’ losses to food production, which is directly related with economy of nation.

1. Acute Poisoning Short exposure causes kill wildlife e.g. Fish kills caused by pesticide residues carried to ponds, streams or rivers by surface runoff or spray drift, bird die caused by foraging on pesticide treated vegetation granules, baits, seeds or insects. These poisoning can be substantiated by analyzing tissues or by biochemical investigation processes.
2. Chronic Poisoning Exposure of wildlife over an extended period of time to pesticide levels not immediately lethal may result in chronic poisoning e.g. Bird mortality resulted from chronic exposure of organo-chlorine insecticides on reproduction in certain birds of prey.
3. Secondary Poisoning Pesticides may impact wildlife through secondary poisoning when an animal consumes prey species that contain pesticide residues e.g. Birds of prey becoming sick after feeding on animal, that is dead or dying from acute exposure to a pesticide, and (2) the accumulation and movement of persistent chemicals in wildlife food chain.

CONCLUSION (Part 1 of 4 Parts)

Today, and in the United States, our concern is the destruction of our natural resources and our wildlife, indirectly or directly – due to complete ignorance about the pesticide being used, by government agencies, non-profit organizations, and under false-pretense. . .

Often, with today’s government agencies, developed is the occurrence of more and more “outright lies”, in this case the lies, to essentially cover-up fraudulent activity directly involving the categorical misinformation, or lies, about the Wild Horse on Our Public Lands, being over-populated.  The “facts” show us they are not over-populated on our Public Lands.  Once again, a metaphor or negative conclusion when government agencies involved, that outreach to the very basis of Our Nation’s Polluted Food-Supply.

We need to establish more truth within government, regulatory measures to oversee “government contracts” or reasons for “budgets” and oversite within procurement before taxpayer money spent on nothing more than lies, for special interests or conflict of interests; which, is very abundant today within the Public Lands Management realm.

We must then Mitigate the ongoing destruction, on our Public Lands and about our nations wild horses (which should be preserved and built upon, not abused, darted, then sent to slaughter) with truthful non-special-interest driven-data, developing a quality hypothesis-driven science; this, in order to support decisions, rather than random and monetary decision-making from no data to little data, or misinterpreted data through bigoted-reasoning, bias, or from total ignorance —  profoundly, and also in today’s government agencies that manage our Public Lands; whereas, ignorance and bigotry, with strong bias, often governs the decision making process and especially within our Lands Management agencies, costing taxpayer’s insurmountable dollars and cents, that are needed in other realms of America. . .

REFERENCES

1. Llewellyn GT, Dorman F, Westland JL, et al. Evaluating a groundwater supply contamination incident attributed to Marcellus Shale gas development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015;112:6325-6330.
2. Hartung R. Some Effects of Oiling on Reproduction of Ducks. The Journal of Wildlife Management 1965;29:872-874.
3. Portmann JE, Connor PM. Toxicity of several oil-spill removers to some species of fish and shellfish. Marine Biology 1968;1:322.
4. Rowe LD, Dollahit J, Camp BJ. Toxicity of two crude oils and of kerosine to cattle. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 1973;162:61-66.
5. Gardner DL. Toxicity of waste petroleum-products in cattle. Veterinary Medicine & Small Animal Clinician 1977;72:1874.
6. Edwards WC, Coppock RW, Zinn LL. Toxicoses related to the petroleum industry. Vet Hum Toxicol 1979;21:328-337.
7. Edwards WC. Toxicology of oil field wastes. Hazards to livestock associated with the petroleum industry. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract 1989;5:363-374.
8. Edwards WC, Coppock RW, Zinn LL. Livestock poisoning from oil field wastes. Bovine Practitioner 1980:146-149.
9. Edwards WC, Gregory DG. Livestock poisoning from oil field drilling fluids, muds and additives. Vet Hum Toxicol 1991;33:502-504.
10. Edwards WC, Zinn LL. Diagnosis of petroleum hydrocarbon poisoning in cattle. Vet Med Small Anim Clin 1979;74:1516-1518.
11. McConnell WC. Oil field problems confronting the veterinarian. Veterinary Medicine 1957;52:159-163.
12. Environmental Protection Agency. Screening-level hazard characterization; crude oil category In: Agency USEP, ed: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2011.
13. King G. Hydraulic fracturing 101: what every representative, environmentalist, regulator, reporter, investor, university researcher, neighbor and engineer should know about estimating frac risk and improving frac performance in unconventional gas and oil wells. SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference. Woodlands, TX, 2012.
14. Bunch AG, Perry CS, Abraham L, et al. Evaluation of impact of shale gas operations in the Barnett Shale region on volatile organic compounds in air and potential human health risks. Sci Total Environ 2014;468-469:832-842.
15. Coppock RW, Christian RG. Petroleum In: Gupta RC, ed. Veterinary Toxicology Basic and Clinical Principles. Toronto: Elsevier, 2012.
16. Colborn T, Kwiatkowski C, Schultz K, et al. Natural gas operations from a public health perspective. Hum Ecol Risk Assess 2011;17:1039-1056.
17. Spellman F. Environmental Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013.
18. Baynes RE, Riviere JE. Risk management of chemical contaminants in livestock In: Riviere JE, ed. Strategies for Reducing Drug and Chemical Residues in Food Animals: International Approaches to Residue Avoidance, Management and Testing. New York: Wiley, 2014;303-312.
19. Bamberger M, Oswald RE. Unconventional oil and gas extraction and animal health. Environ Sci Process Impacts 2014;16:1860-1865.
20. Bamberger M, Oswald RE. Impacts of gas drilling on human and animal health. New Solut 2012;22:51-77.
21. Schilke J. Livestock fallin ill in fracking regions. Food & Environment Reporting Network, 2012.
22. Adelson L, Sunshine I. Fatal poisoning due to a cationic detergent of the quaternary ammonium compound type. Am J Clin Pathol 1952;22:656-661.
23. Coppock RW, Mostrom MS, Khan AA, et al. Toxicology of oil field pollutants in cattle: a review. Vet Hum Toxicol 1995;37:569576.
24. Coppock RW, Mostrom MS, Stair EL, et al. Toxicopathology of oilfield poisoning in cattle: a review. Vet Hum Toxicol 1996;38:36-42.
25. Coppock RW, Florence LZ, Miller CC. Study on the ethology of crude oil ingestion by cattle. Toxicologist 1992;12:336.
26. Chalmers G. A literature review and discussion of the toxicological hazards of oilfield pollutants in cattle. ARCV97-R2 ed. Vegreville, Alberta: Alberta Research Council, 1997.
27. Poppenga RH. Commercial and industrial chemical hazards for ruminants. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract 2011;27:373-387, viii-ix.
28. Koschier FJ. Toxicity of middle distillates from dermal exposure. Drug Chem Toxicol 1999;22:155-164.
29. Riviere JE, Brooks JD, MonteiroRiviere NA, et al. Dermal absorption and distribution of topically dosed jet fuels Jet-A, JP8, and JP-8(100). Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 1999;160:60-75.
30. Baynes RE, Brooks JD, Budsaba K, et al. Mixture effects of JP-8 additives on the dermal disposition of jet fuel components. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2001;175:269-281.
31. Muhammad F, Brooks JD, Riviere JE. Comparative mixture effects of JP-8(100) additives on the dermal absorption and disposition of jet fuel hydrocarbons in different membrane model systems. Toxicol Lett 2004;150:351-365.
32. Monteiro-Riviere NA, Bristol DG, Manning TO, et al. Interspecies and interregional analysis of the comparative histologic thickness and laser Doppler blood flow measurements at five cutaneous sites in nine species. J Invest Dermatol 1990;95:582-586.
33. Baynes RE. In vitro dermal disposition of abamectin (avermectin B(1)) in livestock. Res Vet Sci 2004;76:235-242. 34. Freeman JJ, Federici TM, McKee RH. Evaluation of the contribution of chronic skin irritation and selected compositional parameters to the tumorigenicity of petroleum middle distillates in mouse skin. Toxicology 1993;81:103112.
34. Freeman JJ, McKee RH, Phillips RD, et al. A 90-day toxicity study of the effects of petroleum middle distillates on the skin of C3H mice. Toxicol Ind Health 1990;6:475-491.
35. Nessel CS. A comprehensive evaluation of the carcinogenic potential of middle distillate fuels. Drug Chem Toxicol 1999;22:165-180.
36. McDougal J, Rogers J, Simman R. Understanding systemic and local toxicity of JP-8 after cutaneous exposures In: Witten M, Zieger E,Ritchie G, eds. Jet Fuel Toxicology. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2011;149-180.
37. Eisele GR. Naphthalene distribution in tissues of laying pullets, swine, and dairy cattle. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 1985;34:549-556.
38. Underhill PT. Naturally occurring radioactive materials: principles and practices. Delray Beach, Florida: St. Lucie Press, 1995