Advocates Drop Lawsuit Over Lost Horses Amid Fears It's Too Late

Advocates for the return of 'Lady,' a pet horse believed to have been wrongly captured in a Palomino Valley roundup, have decided to drop their federal case. The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) filed a stipulation and order for dismissal in the U.S. District Court in Reno.

February 8, 2019

The lawsuit was initially filed against the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, the state of Nevada, two Nevada Department of Agriculture officials, and a private contractor involved in the roundup. However, Judge Miranda Du dismissed claims against the tribe due to sovereign immunity, leaving only the claims against the agriculture officials pending an evidentiary hearing.

During their search for Lady and approximately 270 other horses, advocates discovered brand inspections from New Mexico, indicating the horses might have been transported to Mexico for slaughter.

“In light of the fact that the horses are gone with no chance of recovery … there is now no remedy presently available to us in this federal court case,” said Suzanne Roy, director of the advocate group.

Nevada Department of Agriculture officials did not respond to requests for comment. The stipulation to dismiss the remaining claims requires approval from Judge Du.

The roundup, initiated by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe on January 4, aimed to reduce grazing pressure on reservation land northeast of Reno. Wildfires have damaged much of the tribe’s land, prompting a management plan to preserve and restore these areas.

“We are just following through with this management plan to protect the natural resources,” Vice Chairman Alan Mandell stated.

The roundup targeted tribally owned horses, which are not protected under the federal Wild Horse and Burro Act. Many horses were outside the reservation in the Palomino Valley, leading to complaints of trespassing and the capture of privately owned animals.

Lady, a small mare owned by Colleen Westlake of Sparks, was among the captured horses. Westlake adopted Lady to care for her after a previous horse she adopted died. Lady was living on a friend’s property when she was swept up in the roundup.

Westlake expressed her distress, stating, “I just want my horse back. I love my horse, she means everything to me. No amount of money could replace Lady, and I would be devastated if she were slaughtered.”

Despite efforts to locate Lady, including a court order to prevent her slaughter, she was never found. Sue Cattoor of Cattoor Livestock Roundup, the contractor involved, believes Lady was not among the horses shipped to New Mexico.

“We didn’t catch all the horses, there are a lot of horses we didn’t capture,” Cattoor said. “The brand inspector inspected every single solitary captured horse and determined we didn’t capture Lady.”

Westlake remains hopeful that Lady might still be on the range, but suspects she was overlooked during the brand inspection process.

In a statement about dropping the lawsuit, Roy mentioned that the advocates would “explore other legal and legislative avenues to ensure this situation doesn’t happen again.”

Originally posted by Reno Gazette Journal