Wild Horse Advocates Oppose Governor Mead's Lawsuit Against BLM

Wild horse advocates are voicing strong opposition to Governor Matt Mead's recent lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The lawsuit, announced on Monday, has sparked criticism from various advocacy groups concerned about its implications for Wyoming's wild horses and public lands.

“Governor Mead’s legal maneuver is a blatant attempt to scapegoat the small number of wild horses that remain in Wyoming for environmental damage caused by massive livestock grazing and commercial development of the public rangelands,” said Suzanne Roy, Director of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign). “It’s an attempt to secure more government subsidies for commercial interests that dominate the public lands at the expense of wildlife, including America’s iconic and federally-protected wild horses.”

“This lawsuit reveals a deep-seated hostility toward wild horses — which are protected by federal law and cherished by the American public – and desire to eradicate them from the Wyoming landscape,” said Neda DeMayo, founder and CEO of Return to Freedom. “It’s devoid of merit and wasteful of public resources. We are committed to continuing to defend Wyoming’s wild horses in federal court from these assaults by ranchers and their political allies who want to wipe out wild horses from the Western range.”

The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign), The Cloud Foundation, Walker and Curyl, along with Return to Freedom, are plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the BLM’s most recent roundup and removal of more than 1,200 wild horses from the Wyoming checkerboard.

In other wild horse news, the BLM announced today the future establishment of a wild horse ecosanctuary planned for north of Lander.

Originally Posted By County 10 News