Judge allows Nevada wild horse roundup to resume

A government roundup of wild horses can resume in Nevada, a judge ruled Friday, dealing a setback to animal rights activists who had hoped to halt it after 13 mustangs died. Federal land managers hailed U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks' order, warning that more than 500 horses in northern Elko County could die of dehydration in the next week if the roundup didn't continue. On Wednesday, Hicks issued an emergency order stopping the gather. U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesman Doran Sanchez said the condition of the horses is "deteriorating rapidly," and the roundup will resume Saturday morning. BLM officials blame the deaths on the drought and not the roundup. "We have a major crisis here, and given the critical condition the animals are in, we could lose a lot of animals," Sanchez said. "Our main goal is to save as many animals as possible given the extreme emergency conditions." But activists have expressed outrage over the roundup, saying the deaths were predictable, given the hot summer temperatures and the weakened state of colts and mares that recently gave or were about to give birth. In her lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order halting the roundup, horse advocate and author Laura Leigh of Minden argues the BLM violated its own policy not to conduct helicopter roundups until at least six weeks after peak foaling season ends. She said she has doubts about the BLM's explanation of the situation...more