A.P. 4-22,2015
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Wyoming officials that sought to force the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to round up more wild horses.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal ruled Tuesday the BLM doesn’t need to round up horses just because it has determined that their herds are overpopulated.
Freudenthal sided with the federal government and wild horse advocates who pointed out the BLM considers many factors before deciding to proceed with horse roundups.
Wyoming filed the lawsuit in December. Gov. Matt Mead says he’s disappointed in the ruling. An attorney for the Interior Department didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
Freudenthal last month upheld the recent roundup of some 1,200 wild horses in southwest Wyoming after it was contested by horse advocacy groups.
