Page 2 of 7. William Nicholson Lawton, OSB 143685. William S. Eubanks II, pro hac vice application pending. nlawton@meye
PLAINTIFFS’ EXHIBIT G TO MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION Declaration of Robin Kelly Kathrens, et al., v. Jewell, et al., Civ. No. ____________
William Nicholson Lawton, OSB 143685 William S. Eubanks II, pro hac vice application pending
[email protected] [email protected] Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP 4115 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. Suite 210 Washington, DC 20016 Tel: (202) 588-5206 x 107 Fax: (202) 588-5049 Attorney for Plaintiffs
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF OREGON PENDLETON DIVISION
Case No. ___________
GINGER KATHRENS, et al.,
DECLARATION OF ROBIN KELLY
Plaintiffs,
In Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunctive Relief
v. SALLY JEWELL, et al., Defendants.
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DECLARATION OF ROBIN KELLY 1.
I am a licensed veterinarian and specialize in equine practice. I am submitting this
declaration in support of Plaintiff’s Motion for Injunctive Relief. 2.
I graduated from the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
in 1983 and have been an accredited and licensed practicing veterinarian in California ever since. While at UC Davis, I co-authored nine research publications and completed a three year surgical residency. After my surgical residency, I opened an equine practice in California. I also worked for 15 years as an emergency veterinarian for the Tevis Endurance Ride, which is a 100-mile competitive endurance event held in northern California to commemorate the Pony Express Trail. From 2012–2016, I worked as the attending veterinarian for Montgomery Creek Ranch, a wild horse preserve in Willows, California for over 240 wild, untamed horses that have been removed from the range by the BLM or the Nevada Department of Agriculture. I currently work as a private practice veterinarian in my own practice, Sonoma County Equine Care. 3.
While working at Montgomery Creek Ranch, I regularly performed surgical
procedures on wild horses including suturing lacerations, assessing septic joint injuries, radiographing many distal limb injuries, treating colics, performing plasma transfusions on foals, diagnosing and managing many foals with congenital growth issues, treating leg injuries, performing castrations, and caring for a mare with a complication after a natural abortion. Mares require intensive care and twice daily antibiotics in order to survive such an abortion. Although I am keenly aware of the risks that accompany reproductive surgeries, multiple observers were present during each of the procedures I administered, and it is my opinion as a veterinarian with 34 years of experience that the presence of observers during these procedures did not in any way increase those risks.
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4.
The surgeries that the BLM proposes to perform – ovariectomy via colpotomy, tubal
ligation, and hysteroscopically guided laser ablation – are not commonly performed on horses. The latter two, tubal ligation and hysteroscopically guided laser ablation, have never been performed on wild horses, as the BLM itself acknowledges. The veterinary community avoids ovariectomy via colpotomy as a method for spaying mares because of the major risk of complications and significant pain these mares inhumanely experience, which is avoidable by using these other less invasive and risky surgical methods. Several surgeons I consulted who are board certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons note the safest procedure involves the use of a laparoscope that allows the surgeon to visualize the entire procedure without the inherent risks of using an ecraseur (the chain-based tool the BLM plans to use). This is especially true for ovariectomy via colpotomy, which is extremely risky due to its blind nature. It is inherently difficult for a surgeon to avoid severing other organs, including the bowel, or nearby blood vessels, and causing severe infection and internal bleeding during this blind approach. Further, ovariectomy via colpotomy is likely to cause the abortion of the pregnant mare’s fetus and result in the death of the mare. It is dangerous for a mare to miscarry after recently having this surgery because the incisions in the vaginal opening create a potential for “evisceration,” which is the protrusion of small or large intestine through the incision. The fact that mares experience significant pain after this procedure, which causes them to roll on the ground, exacerbates the risk of complications. Additionally, when mares miscarry, they very commonly retain their placenta, which must be managed intensively to avoid infection and death. 5.
Because horses are wild, there is no accurate and easy way for them to be monitored
carefully postoperatively, and many complications are guaranteed to arise. It would be helpful
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if a camera was present to postoperatively observe any complications the mares might experience. 6.
Because of the extreme risks of bleeding, infection, abortion, and death,
ovariectomy via colpotomy is not humane to perform on wild horses and it is not regularly used in domestic horses due to the availability of superior, more humane procedures. This procedure is outdated, and every board certified Veterinarian I have spoken with voiced extreme concern this was even being considered for use on any mare when more humane options are available. Horses are inherently sensitive to abdominal pain, and complications post abdominal surgery often occur even in a hospital setting. I would never perform any of these three surgical options the field, and I would never choose to subject any mare to an ovariectomy via colpotomy because, even in the rare circumstance where an ovariectomy might be clinically necessary, more humane procedures are available. 7.
I believe that observation of veterinary procedures has important benefits. I am
always happy to teach observers about the procedure while I am performing surgery. I spent 3 years in a surgical residency, and the only way I was able to learn was by watching others perform procedures and discussing the process while performing it. Teaching in the veterinary field is extremely important, and the presence of observers does not affect a qualified veterinarians performing veterinary procedures. The presence of independent observers present will help ensure the humane treatment of these horses and help ensure that only humane procedures are selected for implementation in the future. 8.
I do not believe that observers in any way would affect the ability of a qualified
veterinarian to safely and effectively perform a procedure on a wild horse, as long as the horse is properly sedate and pain is effectively controlled. There is absolutely no additional risk to the
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veterinarian, the bystanders, or the horse if quiet bystanders are present during the surgery, much less if a small camera is mounted in the operation area. Because the wild mares will be in hydraulic chutes that they cannot escape, the presence of observers will pose no safety risk to observers, mares, or researchers. I have performed many procedures on wild horses in similar hydraulic chutes in the presence of observers, and the presence of observers in no way created increased risks to the horses, the observers, or myself. Independent observation is critical to ensure documentation of whether these objectionable and questionable procedures are performed humanely, competently, and with regards to the highest standards of veterinary care. 9.
It is extremely important that these procedures are observed and the results
independently documented. These procedures, which are not commonly accepted and rarely needed in the equine veterinary community, are likely to cause significant pain and suffering to these wild mares. The procedures put these mares at risk of many acute complications, including evisceration, life threatening hemorrhage, infections, abortions, complications due to the loss of foals, and even death. These risks are inherent to the procedures; the presence of observers will not, in my opinion, increase those risks in any way. However, allowing observation of these procedures by observers who are not affiliated with the BLM or the research staff would provide for recordings and/or unbiased, first-hand reports that would be useful to the public in determining whether these procedures are an appropriate way to care for wild horses. Given that one of the BLM’s main goals for these experiments is to determine whether these three experimental procedures are socially acceptable, my opinion as a veterinarian with 34 years of experience, which includes experience of performing many veterinary procedures on horses and performing such procedures on wild horses with observers present, is that direct public observation would be the single most effective way for the BLM to
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achieve its stated goal. 10. Because I believe than an account of these experiments from an observer who is not affiliated with the BLM or the institution implementing this research is extremely valuable for the public, I am willing to attend and observe these experiments for a limited period of time if given enough advanced notice to alter my busy veterinary schedule. The demands of my regular veterinary practice mean that I can be available for up to three days of observation.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I hereby declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
August 11 , 2016
Robin Kelly, DVM
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