A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit that would have forced the government to sell or otherwise dispose of tens of thousands of mustangs in holding facilities in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Miranda Du in Reno decided in favor of wild-horse advocates and against a coalition of rural Nevada counties.
The horse advocates said the effort backed by the Nevada Farm Bureau was led by ranchers who want a bigger share of forage for their livestock. They said it would force the sale of federally protected mustangs for slaughter.
Judge Du dismissed the suit as a broad attack on the Bureau of Land Management's overall wild-horse policy in 10 western states. She says it lacks specifics needed to order BLM to round up more horses and get rid of the ones they have.
