Hearing on U.S. Wild Horse Fight to Proceed Despite Shutdown

RENO, Nev. — The government shutdown is not a sufficient reason to delay a hearing scheduled in U.S. District Court in Reno on Thursday. This hearing involves a legal battle between the Interior Department and wild horse advocates over hundreds of mustangs gathered from a wildlife refuge on the Nevada-Oregon line, as ruled by a federal judge.

Justice Department lawyers filed a motion last week to stay the proceedings until Congress restores both agencies' appropriations. However, horse advocates claimed it was a tactic to prevent them from obtaining a court order to stop the shipment of animals to a Mississippi contractor, who they allege has a history of reselling them for slaughter.

U.S. District Judge Miranda Du did not directly address this claim in her rejection of the government's request. However, she ruled that Bonnie Kohleriter of California and Laura Leigh of Nevada have the right to argue their First Amendment rights in court. They seek access to the horses to ensure their safety before the animals are shipped from a temporary holding facility in northwest Nevada, where more than 400 were rounded up last month at the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge.

"If a stay is granted, the issue set for the ... hearing may be moot by the time the appropriation issue is resolved," Du wrote in a three-page ruling issued late Friday.

The horse advocates argue that the Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service has illegally prohibited them from viewing the horses at the holding facility, where they claim some have been mistreated. The agency canceled the only scheduled public tour of the site last week due to the government shutdown.

Du noted that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in another case brought by Leigh—a photographer and leader of the group Wild Horse Education—that the "courts have a duty to conduct a thorough and searching review of any attempt to restrict public access."

"Even if shipment of horses is halted during the period of the government shutdown, and horses remain at the temporary holding facility through the requested stay, plaintiffs' First Amendment right of access to viewing may be abridged given the ongoing nature of the alleged violation," Du wrote.

Originally Posted By Associated Press