Horse News

Federal Court Dismisses Wyoming Welfare Rancher’s Anti-Wild Horse Lawsuit

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Source: Multiple

“We are pleased that the Court declined to allow this blatant attempt by the State to scapegoat the small number of wild horses that remain in Wyoming to benefit ranchers.”

Destruction of Wyoming's Adobe Town herd by the BLM ~ photo by Carol Walker of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Destruction of Wyoming’s Adobe Town herd by the BLM ~ photo by Carol Walker of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

On Tuesday (4/21/15) The U.S. District Court in Wyoming dismissed a lawsuit filed by the State of Wyoming against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) seeking the removal of wild horses from public lands across the state. Earlier this year, the Court granted intervenor status to the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC), The Cloud Foundation, Return to Freedom, and wild horse photographers Carol Walker and Kimerlee Curyl. Intervenors promptly filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against the BLM.

The Court stated in its decision that “the Court agrees with BLM and Intervenors. At this time there is no discrete action required by BLM and the management of wild horses on federal land throughout Wyoming is properly left to the sound discretion of BLM without judicial entanglement.”

“We are pleased that the Court declined to allow this blatant attempt by the State to scapegoat the small number of wild horses that remain in Wyoming to benefit ranchers. The Court reaffirmed the BLM’s discretion to determine what actions are needed to achieve the agency’s objective to maintain a thriving natural ecological balance and that removing horses is not mandated,” said Caitlin Zittkowski of Meyer, Glitzenstein & Crystal, the Washington, D.C. public interest law firm which represented AWHPC, The Cloud Foundation, Return to Freedom, Ms. Walker and Ms. Curyl in the case.

Just last month, the Federal Court in Nevada granted AWHPC’s motion to dismiss in a similar lawsuit filed on behalf of ranchers that sought the removal of thousands of wild horses from public lands. That case was dismissed with prejudice.

The State of Wyoming lawsuit sought the removal of hundreds of wild horses from public lands in Wyoming, a state in where fewer than 2,500 wild horses remain. Statewide, Wyoming’s wild horse population levels are far below the high “Allowable” Management Level of 3,722 wild horses, a number established by BLM land use plans.

National opinion polls indicate that 72 percent of Americans support protecting wild horses on public lands while just 29 percent want public lands used for livestock grazing.

In Wyoming, wild horse numbers are dwarfed by the number of livestock grazing on public lands at taxpayer expense. Fewer than 2,500 wild horses remain on just 3.2 million acres of public rangeland, while hundreds of thousands of livestock graze 18 million acres of public land in the state. Put another way, wild horses are present in Wyoming on just 2 percent of the BLM land grazed by livestock.

Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs

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16 replies »

  3. yippee,some common sense at last,thankyou to all those who kept fighting for this and to the court for seeing how the ranchers are trying to run the wild horses and burros off the range.

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  4. We have calmed this particular issue for the moment. However, Wyoming is a state with a long memory.
    We must continue to work to change the HMA management to lessen the controversy between the ranchers and the Wild horses rights to graze.

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    • Too bad they added the digital animation – the actual moves made by the horse are much better!!!! Not necessary to dress them up.

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  12. There is a tipping point currently, pouring to the side of Naturalism and protection of our wild lands. Bundy really did us a favor by stomping and prostrating at the BLM. He’s shown the rest of the country what were up against. Self involved short sighted folks with only money on their mind.

    Small cattle ranches can benefit the land as well as the wild horses. But mega fencing, battles for resources only leaves us all struggling.

    Glad to hear that slowly sense is coming around. It helps that the old’e guard is tiring and sitting down at the fire.

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  13. …gnome of language…
    What it should have said…Bumping and prostrating at the BLM shows the world what were dealing with, the mentality of the Ranchers who seem to think they have cart’e blanche’ on open public lands, while making the natural wildlife suffer, a well as the typography of the land.

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