Horse advocates gathered near a busy highway Tuesday to demonstrate against the Nevada state Department of Agriculture's plan to round up abandoned horses from a range southeast of Reno and sell them at auction.
The reason given for the round-up is that horses have been wandering onto the highway and causing automobile accidents recently.
A number of protesters gathered on the grass and sidewalks outside the State Legislature, where they held signs and rallied support from passing vehicles.
According to Bonnie Matton of the Wild Horse Preservation League, the protestors are not asking the state to stop the round-up, but they are worried that the horses will be auctioned off and bought for slaughter.
The advocates say the cancellation in 2009 of agreements with horse advocacy groups under the previous administration of Gov. Jim Gibbons exacerbated the problem of horses on the highways.
"We worked a decent, good wild horse program in the past," said Shirley Allen of Dayton. "It didn't cost taxpayers a dime. But since they stopped working with advocates, there's not a lot of alternatives they're leaving us."
A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, said the removal of horses is essential for public safety.
Unlike wild horses protected by federal law and managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, horses wandering on state lands are considered to be strays with no legal protections against slaughter.