KSL TV
NEAR DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, Tooele County – Every Wednesday morning in Utah s West Desert, volunteers armed with rifles have ventured into a herd of wild horses and fire away at the mustangs.
It s not to hurt them. It s to give them a better shot at survival. Because I love the horses, said Jessica Franzen explaining her role in what amounts to a long-running science experiment. It s aimed at resolving a decades-old controversy over the future of the picturesque mustangs. I do love helping out, she said. There s a huge need.
The volunteers tried to maneuver themselves close enough to get a clean shot at the hindquarters of a wild mare. Instead of using gunpowder and bullets, their rifles used CO2 to fire a dart that packs a chemical punch. Each dart delivered a shot of PZP which makes a mare sterile, temporarily. One booster shot each year keeps her that way.