Lawsuit Filed to Stop BLM from Sterilizing Idaho Wild Horse Herd

BOISE, Idaho – On January 4, 2016, a coalition of wild horse advocates filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to prevent the sterilization of the Saylor Creek wild horse herd. This legal action challenges the BLM's plan, citing violations of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and the National Environmental Policy Act.

The lawsuit, filed by The Cloud Foundation (TCF), American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign), Return to Freedom, and Virginia Marie Hudson, argues that the BLM's plan to sterilize the entire herd in the Saylor Creek Herd Management Area (HMA) is unlawful. The plan was approved as part of the BLM’s Jarbidge Resource Management Plan (RMP), finalized on September 2, 2015.

Nick Lawton of Meyer, Glitzenstein & Eubanks, representing the advocates, stated, “This case challenges a controversial and precedent-setting plan by the BLM to sterilize an entire herd of wild horses in the Saylor Creek Herd Management Area – an action that will destroy the natural, wild, and free-roaming behavior of these individual horses, as well as the social organization and long-term viability of the herd.”

The lawsuit claims that the BLM's plan harms the interests of American citizens, represented by Virginia Marie Hudson, by impairing the public’s ability to enjoy and observe the wild horses' natural social behaviors. The complaint also charges that the BLM authorized this drastic action without evidence of range damage caused by the Saylor Creek herd or a determination of “excess” horses, as required by law.

Lawton concluded, “The BLM’s plan to sterilize this entire herd of wild horses will fundamentally change the behaviors that define these animals. If BLM succeeds, the agency will likely expand its sterilization campaign throughout the West. This lawsuit aims to preserve the behavior and character that make these animals precious to the American people, to keep wild horses wild.”

Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation, added, “If this proposed action is unchanged, it will result in the wholesale loss of this herd and an irreparable loss of a part of our national heritage for this and future generations. This is unacceptable.”

Originally posted by The Desert Independent