Wild horse advocates push to enter lawsuit filed by the state of Wyoming against BLM

Wild horse advocacy groups across the country are pushing to intervene in a federal lawsuit the state of Wyoming filed recently against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management accusing the federal agency of not doing enough to reduce wild horse populations. Two coalitions of horse advocate groups filed papers in federal court in Wyoming last week seeking to enter the state's lawsuit. One group includes the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, headquartered in North Carolina, and the other includes Friends of Animals, headquartered in Connecticut. Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead claimed in the state's lawsuit that the BLM isn't doing enough to control horse numbers. He maintains too many wild horses can harm habitat used by wildlife. "It is my belief, and the belief of other western governors, that the BLM does not have the resources to manage wild horses effectively," Mead said after filing the lawsuit. "By filing suit, it sends a message that wild horse management is a priority and the BLM must be provided the funding necessary to manage them." By pushing to intervene in the case, the horse advocate groups are widening their attack on horse-management practices in Wyoming. The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign and some other groups are pushing a separate federal lawsuit of their own claiming that the BLM violated federal law by rounding up over 1,200 from three areas in Wyoming this summer. The groups filed their main brief in their federal lawsuit against the BLM last week...more