Wild Horse Advocates Win lawsuit challenging Bureau of Land Management’s handling of Mustang roundups
In a rare legal win for wild horse advocates, a US judge ruled that the Bureau of Land Management delayed herd management plans for a Nevada wild horse roundup where 31 mustangs died.
A federal judge on Friday ruled in favor of a lawsuit challenging U.S. land managers' handling of horse roundups, in a rare legal victory for wild horse advocates.
The case, filed by Wild Horse Education (WHE) in 2022, accused the Bureau of Land Management of unreasonably delaying the creation of legal herd management plans for the roundup of more than 2,000 wild horses in the Pancake Complex in Nevada last summer.
This roundup, which led to the death of 31 mustangs, gained national attention when a video surfaced, showing a colt fleeing from a Bureau of Land Management helicopter while suffering from a broken leg.
U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du in Reno ordered the Bureau of Land Management to reopen an environmental assessment for the Pancake Complex roundup to include the potential impact of roundups on wildfire risks and complete a formal herd management plan (HMAP) for the Pancake complex within one year.
The judge also highlighted the issue goes far beyond the Pancake Complex roundup, calling the Bureau of Land Management’s decades-long delays in developing and approving HMAPs as “nothing short of egregious” that “clearly violate the rule of reason.”
The ruling supported WHE's argument that by failing to complete an HMAP for the Pancake complex or the individual Herd Management Areas (HMAs) included in the complex, the land agency denies the public the chance to address crucial issues, such as how forage is allocated, water improvements to distribute population, specific genetic preservation, mitigation measures for mining and livestock expanding in the area, and more.
“I am simply elated. The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act is about more than just removal. Today, the court affirmed the intention of that law.” stated Laura Leigh, President of WHE. “For over twelve years I have been trying to address critical issues of on-range management planning with BLM and have been repeatedly denied.
“There is no replacement for the HMAP where the public has the only opportunity to address specifics of management planning and actions to achieve those goals. Finally, after 38 years, BLM will need to provide that opportunity.
“This ruling has finally opened the door to advocacy and actually provides the opportunity to engage management practices,” Leigh continued.
Other wild horse advocates celebrated the ruling, stating the verdict has “set precedence for procedures in managing our wild horses and range lands.”
“Rewilding America Now (formerly the Cana Foundation) would like to thank the court, for its fact-based verdict, Jessica Blome and her team for their hard work but most of all Laura Leigh from Wild Horse Education for her tireless work for our wild horses,” said Manda Kalimian, founder of RAN, “Environmental rewilding with wild horses is the way forward to protect our lands, horses and all wild life on the range.”
Why Are Wild Horses Being Rounded Up?
The Bureau of Land Management claims that these roundups are necessary to protect the land from denigration and to protect horses from suffering due to overpopulation.
However, investigations have repeatedly revealed a key factor driving the roundups of wild horses: the presence of private cattle and sheep ranchers who hold permits for grazing livestock on the same public lands where these horses are supposed to roam freely.
In a notable case involving the Sand Wash Basin in northwestern Colorado, nearly 700 horses were rounded up and relocated to holding facilities, where they would remain in captivity indefinitely. The Bureau of Land Management cited resource constraints as the rationale for removing the horses. However, just two months later, CBS4 Investigates uncovered that over 2,000 domestic sheep were grazing on the very same land.
Livestock grazing consumes a significant portion of the annual forage production, ranging from 50 to 65 percent, wildlife biologist Erik Molvar tells Species Unite. This leaves less than half of the resources available for wild horses, as well as other wildlife such as elk, mule deer, sage grouse, grasshoppers, and jackrabbits. Ensuring sufficient growth for grass plants to survive until the following year is crucial says Molvar, but chronic authorization of livestock grazing by the Bureau of Land Management exacerbates overgrazing, creating a significant problem.
Of the horses that survive the roundups, some are put up for adoption, but the vast majority are either sent to Canada or Mexico for slaughter or kept in barren holding facilities for the rest of their lives. There are currently more than 60,000 wild horses and burros living in overcrowded long-term government holding facilities around the country, costing more than $109 million annually.
Horses at a Bureau of Land Management holding facility. Credit: American Wild Horse Campaign
What’s the Solution?
Birth Control
According to the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC), the Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) vaccine offers a safe, humane, and effective alternative to the current approach of traumatic roundups for managing wild horses. This fertility-control vaccine is administered to female horses on the range through remote darting. PZP has a solid scientific foundation, with over three decades of successful use, and is endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as a suitable method for federally protected wild horse herds. Apart from its positive impact on the animals, the use of birth control is also significantly more cost-effective, with each dose priced at just $30 compared to the hefty expense of $1,600 to house each captured animal.
Legislative Reforms
Molvar believes that the Bureau of Land Management's wild horse and burro program is a blatant deception imposed on American taxpayers. He criticized it as a considerable burden on federal resources, with minimal returns for the damage inflicted on western public lands due to increased livestock presence. In the quest for change, Molvar advocates for legislative reforms that would grant environmentalists the opportunity to purchase grazing permits, leading to a significant reduction in livestock grazing activities.
He emphasizes that livestock grazing has emerged as one of the most severe ecological impacts on western public lands across the vast majority of territories and believes that enacting legislation allowing voluntary buyouts of grazing permits, followed by their permanent retirement, is crucial. This approach would enable conservation-minded buyers to acquire these permits, ensuring long-term ecological rebound by removing cattle and sheep from the lands for extended periods.
How Can You Help?
Move to a plant-based food system: Choosing plant-based food instead of animal-based products is one of the most powerful things you can do to help protect the lands where wild horses should be roaming free. Download your free Plant-Based Starter Kit here.
Sign the petition: Over 13,000 Species Unite supporters have rallied together to urge Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to stop these roundups and find sustainable solutions. You can sign the petition here.
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