AWHC & State of Nevada: Virginia Range Horse Humane Management Cooperative Agreement
In March 2013, the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign), then operating under Return to Freedom's umbrella, initiated Phase 1 of a plan to protect the Virginia Range mustangs by entering into a cooperative agreement with the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA). This agreement prevents any horses captured by the state from being sent to a slaughter auction. Read more about that agreement here.
In June 2013, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signed Assembly Bill 264 (AB264), allowing the NDA to resume cooperative agreements with non-profit organizations to humanely oversee the wild horses in the Virginia Range outside Reno.
In early October 2013, AWHC, then under Return to Freedom, submitted a formal, comprehensive proposal to humanely manage the Virginia Range mustangs. This proposal, developed in collaboration with five horse protection groups in Nevada, outlines plans to keep horses away from urban areas, manage the population through humane fertility control, and promote community education programs about living safely with wild horses.
On March 19, 2015, the State of Nevada and Return to Freedom signed the on-the-range management cooperative agreement. Protocols are being established to prevent Virginia Range horses from harm or removal, ensuring they remain wild.
Since Fall 2012, an extraordinary rescue effort has been underway to save a historic group of Nevada mustangs in the Virginia Range near Reno. In September 2012, the Nevada Department of Agriculture began capturing groups of Virginia Range wild horses, many of whom local advocates had been watching for years. After holding the horses for a specified time, the NDA sent them to a livestock auction in Fallon, NV, frequented by kill buyers who purchase horses for slaughter in Mexico and Canada.
In response, local advocacy and rescue organizations, led by Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund and Least Resistance Training Concepts, mounted a heroic rescue effort. As of January 9, 2013, they have saved 141 wild Virginia Range horses from slaughter. This rescue was made possible by financial support from the American Wild Horse Conservation, thanks to generous donations from supporters worldwide. Please read on to learn more about this rescue and the beautiful horses saved by this amazing team effort.