Albuquerque, NM, Oct. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wild horses or free-range horses, which people love seeing in the wild, are struggling from overpopulation and lack of grazing opportunities. It is estimated that there are more than 400,000 wild horses alive in the U.S. today living on federal, state, Tribal and private land. With rangeland declining coast to coast, these horses are dying of starvation, illness and hurting other wildlife that share the same land. The current solutions offered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) include roundups to move the horses or capturing and inoculating horses. Both options means having to do them year after year at a huge cost to taxpayers and with inhumane conditions for the horses.
Wildlife Protection Management (WPM), a New Mexico-based company, has come up with a humane, patented, and cost-effective way to manage wild horses and other animal populations. Their solution is the world’s first remote vaccine, identification, and animal tracking system. The automated system involves a three-step process:
- Animals are attracted to a central hub in the wild with bait
- Once at the hub they are administered vaccines and contraception using remote technology
- RFID chips and video monitoring are used for ongoing animal management
Streaming video is used for gender identification, animal monitoring and proof of performance. The RFID chips identify animals, ensure needed vaccines, and detect fever in sick or deceased animals. It can be used not only on horses but other species as well. Of the approximately 70 horses in their pilot program, they have an astounding 126,000 RFID reads. They know more about horses in remote areas than most know in their own backyards.
A video that showcases WPM’s work is at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_ZSml-yWxk
WPM was founded by Roch Hart, from his personal experience managing a 20,000-acre ranch in Central New Mexico. Wild horses would frequent the ranch. "We had a population of wild and feral horses, and I knew there had to be a way I could humanely deal with population growth," he explained.
With a few seed investors and a grant from the National Science Foundation, Hart was on his way and started WPM.
He is currently in fundraising mode again to expand the company’s reach throughout the U.S. and the globe. The technology can be used not only for animal management, but also for ranch management and to detect zoonotic diseases (disease that spreads from animals to humans.)
“The beauty of our system is that with our satellite communication technology and solar-powered system, we can deploy it anywhere in the world,” Hart added.
Interested investors can learn more at https://wefunder.com/wildlifeprotectionmanagementinc/
