BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Local animal rescue Marley’s Mutts is looking to spread awareness for new legislation that they say is a win-win for our American heroes and our wild horses.
Marley’s Mutts and Animal Wellness Action are teaming up to support the Veterans for Mustang Act, a bill that would amend the 1971 Wild-Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act to help better protect these animals on federal lands.
“The thing I like the most about this initiative is the potential to have horses and humans healing one another," said Zach Skow, founder of Marley's Mutts. "The human-animal bond will break you wide open and address you psychiatrically in a way that nothing else can.”
The bill hopes to do this by working to control the reproductive rates of horses.
“It's an immunocontraceptive called Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP)," said Marty Irby, executive director of Animal Wellness Action. "n top of that it’s a federal savings to the taxpayer because a dose of this birth control costs $30 per horse per year to administer. After several years they typically become sterile.”
The Bureau of Land Management has said it supports research into fertility control but the applications could be tough. The bill aims to tackle this challenge by certifying military veterans.
Local equestrian therapeutic riding center MARE offers a variety of programs including for veterans and they see the benefits that working with these animals could mean for our heroes.
“It can bring up any sort of feeling or promote that healthy feeling of full-heartedness because you get to experience this with another big-hearted animal," said Paige Oveson, program director for MARE. “The horse will mirror your attitude so it’s kind of a reflection of what you’re putting out.”
Skow said he hopes if this legislation is pushed through, it'll open more opportunities for equestrian-centric programs for those in-need.
“We’ve been pushing for an equine program at Tehachapi State Prison now for four years and I’m very confident if a bill like this were passed and there was support associated with it we could have some really special equine programs for Tehachapi State Prison and indeed a number of the state prisons in the northern Part of Kern County," he said.
