Nevada Seeks Nonprofit Input for Virginia Range Wild Horse Management

July 23, 2013

AWHC Contributor

The Nevada Department of Agriculture is reaching out to nonprofit organizations to develop a comprehensive wild horse management plan for the Virginia Range, located southeast of Reno. This initiative aims to establish a cooperative agreement that ensures the horses' health and public safety.

The effort is part of a new Nevada law designed to reduce tensions between horse advocacy groups and the state, paving the way for a long-term management strategy.

"This is an opportunity for a private group to provide solutions for the healthy management of the Virginia Range horses," said Jim Barbee, director of the state Department of Agriculture.

Wild horses in the Virginia Range are not federally protected as they reside on state or private lands, classifying them as feral or stray. Earlier this year, the department partnered with Return to Freedom Inc., a California-based organization, to prioritize advocacy groups in protecting horses gathered from the Virginia Range from slaughter. Unlike federally protected horses, state horses can be sold at auction, potentially for slaughter.

The latest proposal seeks to extend this cooperative spirit to effectively manage the horses in their natural habitat.

"It's a very good thing," said Neda DeMayo, founder of Return to Freedom. "For years we've been working very hard to implement and to inspire a direction for on-range management instead of taking them off their habitat."

Deniz Bolbol from the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) echoed this sentiment.

"It's a huge opportunity to do this right and do it humanely," she said.

The same law that facilitates agreements with private groups for managing the Virginia Range horses also prohibits feeding feral livestock, including horses.