Federal Court To Hear Motion to Dismiss Utah Rancher Anti-Mustang Lawsuit

Newsdate: Thu 26, Mar 2015 – 6:45 am
Location: SALT LAKE CITY, Utah

On Wednesday, March 25, the U.S. District Court District of Utah heard arguments on a Motion to Dismiss a Utah rancher lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) seeking to compel the removal of hundreds of wild horses from public and private lands in the state.

Wild mustangs on open land

Wild mustangs on open land

The Utah case was filed by the Western Rangelands Conservation Association on behalf of ranchers who graze livestock on public lands in southwestern Utah and seeks removal of hundreds of wild horses.

The Motion to Dismiss was filed by the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC), The Cloud Foundation, Return to Freedom, Utah photographer John Steele and wild horse advocate and adopter Lisa Friday, who were granted the right to intervene in the case last October.

Earlier this month, the court granted AWHPC’s motion to dismiss a similar rancher lawsuit against the BLM in Nevada. The advocates are also intervenors in the state of Wyoming’s rancher-driven lawsuit against the BLM.

The Utah case was filed by the Western Rangelands Conservation Association on behalf of ranchers who graze livestock on public lands in southwestern Utah. It seeks removal of hundreds of wild horses from the Frisco, Four Mile, Bible Springs, Sulphur, Muddy Creek, and North Hills Herd Management Areas (HMAs) and the Blawn Wash Herd Are (HA).

In response, the government has informed the court that wild horses are not damaging rangelands in this area and that it has made no determination that “excess” wild horses exist in the HMAs and HA in question.

Ranchers’ claims that wild horses are overpopulating the state are not supported by facts. In reality, wild horses reside on just 2.1 million acres of BLM land in the state while livestock graze on 22 million acres. There are fewer than 4,000 wild horses on BLM land in Utah, compared to hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep.

About The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign

The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) is a coalition of more than 60 horse advocacy, public interest, and conservation organizations dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage.

About The Cloud Foundation

The Cloud Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of wild horses and burros on our Western public lands with a focus on protecting Cloud’s herd in the Pryor Mountains of Montana. Cloud is the subject of Foundation founder Ginger Kathrens’ groundbreaking PBS/Nature documentaries.

About Return to Freedom

Return to Freedom is a national non-profit dedicated to wild horse preservation through sanctuary, education and conservation, and also operates the American Wild Horse Sanctuary in Lompoc, CA. It is also AWHPC’s founding organization.

John Steele

John Steele is a noted wildlife and nature photographer who frequently photographs Utah’s wild horse herds.

Lisa Friday

Lisa Friday is a Virginia resident, wild horse adopter and board member for The Cloud Foundation.

About the Author

Flossie Sellers

Author picture

As an animal lover since childhood, Flossie was delighted when Mark, the CEO and developer of EquiMed asked her to join his team of contributors.

She enrolled in My Horse University at Michigan State and completed a number of courses in everything related to horse health, nutrition, diseases and conditions, medications, hoof and dental care, barn safety, and first aid.

Staying up-to-date on the latest developments in horse care and equine health is now a habit, and she enjoys sharing a wealth of information with horse owners everywhere.

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