Litigation: Defending America's Wild Horses and Burros
American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) is committed to defending wild horses and burros from government actions that prioritize commercial interests over the welfare of these national treasures. Our legal efforts aim to uphold the Wild Free-Roaming Wild Horses and Burros Act of 1971, ensuring these animals remain protected on public lands.
Our Record of Successful Litigation
With a strategic approach to litigation, AWHC collaborates with NGO partners, individual citizens, and the legal team at Meyer Glitzenstein and Eubanks to challenge injustices effectively. Our efforts have resulted in significant legal victories that set important precedents.
Setting Legal Precedents
Our victories in federal court include three significant legal precedents at the Ninth and Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. These rulings affirm that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management cannot turn public lands over to private interests and has broad discretion to manage wild horses and burros without resorting to roundups.
Cases and Accomplishments by Year
2018
- Challenged the BLM's plan to remove over 9,000 horses from the Antelope and Triple B Complex in Nevada, focusing on the plan to castrate stallions and use an unproven birth control vaccine on mares.
- Defended wild horses in the Caliente Complex in Nevada against BLM's eradication plans while allowing commercial livestock grazing.
- Won a Preliminary Injunction to halt BLM's plan for sterilization surgeries on wild mares, leading to the abandonment of these experiments.
2017
- Defended wild horses in Idaho from BLM's plans to sterilize the Saylor Creek Herd Management Area.
- Protected wild horses in Utah from a rancher lawsuit seeking mass removal from public lands.
- Fought at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a decision against a rancher lawsuit for horse roundups and slaughter.
2016
- Achieved two major legal victories at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, overturning decisions that favored private landowners over wild horses.
- Stopped BLM from treating Wyoming Checkerboard lands as private and forced the cancellation of horse roundups.
- Affirmed BLM's discretion in managing horse populations, including humane fertility control.
- Our First Amendment lawsuit led to the cancellation of BLM's sterilization experiments, sparing 200 mares and their foals.
2015
- Intervened and won against Nevada ranchers' lawsuit for mass horse removals, with the case dismissed with prejudice.
- Won against the State of Wyoming's lawsuit for mass horse roundups, with the case dismissed as meritless.
2012
- Prevented BLM from eliminating wild horses in the Jakes Wash Herd Area and castrating stallions in the Pancake Herd Management Area.
2011
- Stopped BLM from sterilizing wild horses in the White Mountain Herd Management Area in Wyoming.
Active and Completed Cases
Active/Lower Court:
- Devils Garden Sale "Without Limitation"
- Mare Ovariectomy Experiments
- Devils Garden Intervention
- Caliente 'Zeroing' Out
- Beaver County Utah Intervention
Active on Appeal:
Appellate Court Victories:
- DC Circuit Find Forest Service Violated Law in Reducing Size of Devils Garden Wild Horse Territory (2017)
- Ninth Circuit Tosses Nevada Rancher Lawsuit (2017)
- Tenth Circuit Tosses State of Wyoming Rancher Lawsuit (2016)
- Tenth Circuit Affirms BLM Cannot Treat Public Lands as Private In WY Checkerboard (2016)
Completed:
- Wyoming Checkerboard III
- Devil's Garden Wild Horse Territory (AWHPC et. al. vs. U.S. Forest Service)
- Saylor Creek - Jarbidge RMP
- Litigation: Utah Ranchers vs. BLM
- Litigation: NACO vs. DOI (Intervention)
- Wyoming Checkerboard 2016
- Wyoming Checkerboard 2014
- State of Wyoming vs. DOI (Intervention)
- Oregon Sterlization Experiments
- Wyoming RSGA vs. DOI (Intervention)
- Wyoming BLM White Mountain Sterilization Plan (AWHPC et. al vs. DOI)
- AWHPC et. al. vs. DOI (Pancake (NV) Complex)