Nevada Woman Sues Over Missing Horse Amid Slaughter Fears
RENO, NEV.
A Nevada woman, fearing her missing horse could end up at a slaughterhouse, has joined a lawsuit challenging state plans to transfer ownership of thousands of free-roaming mustangs to private hands.
Lawyers for the California-based American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) and Cynthia Ashe of Silver Springs filed the lawsuit Monday in state court in Carson City. They seek an injunction to block what they describe as "a giveaway of a valuable and cherished Nevada asset."
The lawsuit accuses Nevada's Department of Agriculture of breaching a contract that called for the wild horse group to manage nearly 3,000 mustangs in the Virginia Range east and south of Reno through 2020. This was to be done in a humane manner under a joint agreement emphasizing fertility control.
"There's nothing in state law that allows them to just give away these public resources," said Suzanne Roy, the executive director of the American Wild Horse Conservation, who called it a "flagrantly illegal scheme."
Roy announced plans to file the lawsuit with Lance Gilman, a Storey County commissioner and wealthy businessman who manages the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center along Interstate 80, about 10 miles east of Sparks. The 167-square-mile industrial park serves as home to Tesla Motor Co.'s giant battery factory, Switch, and Google. It's also home to about 2,000 of the horses.
Gilman appealed to Gov. Brian Sandoval to block the ownership transfers and appoint a mediator to help settle the dispute. However, there has been no indication the governor intends to intercede.
"Since Mr. Gilman is now threatening litigation, there will be no further comment from the governor's office," Sandoval spokeswoman Mari St. Martin said in an email to The Associated Press last week.
The Nevada Department of Agriculture published a request for proposals last month for people willing to take ownership of the Virginia Range herd. It intends to start transferring ownership of the animals as early as May.
The new twist is the addition of Ashe's concerns about her private property rights. She raises domestic horses in Lyon County, about 40 miles northeast of Carson City. One of her mares got loose from a fenced enclosure and "took off with a band of wild horses" in the Virginia Range in 2016, Roy said.
"Now she's at large," Roy said. "She could be sold for slaughter."
The lawsuit states that the department is required to safeguard the rights of owners whose horses escape. Among other things, a state branding inspector must confirm no one has a claim to any horse offered for sale or transfer, the suit said. Such transfers are prohibited unless each animal is "individually inspected and advertised because of the recovery rights of legal owners or possible owners," including Ashe, the lawsuit said.
Nevada Agriculture Director Jim Barbee said his agency receives no state appropriation to manage the horses and cannot afford to do the job, which includes ensuring public safety on state highways and roads where wandering animals sometimes are hit by passing vehicles. He said the new plan is intended to replace state ownership of the herd "with a reputable animal advocate organization that has the experience, knowledge, tools, resources, and financial ability to manage the horses according to their needs."
Barbee said his department intends to continue consulting with Nevada's attorney general to ensure any transfer complies with state law. However, Roy says no private entity can obtain the liability insurance necessary to cover so many animals over such a large area of open range.
Originally posted by Bradenton Herald