Judge denies bid to block Nevada mustang roundups

RENO -- A federal judge in Nevada who handed horse protection advocates a rare victory last fall has rejected their latest request to block government roundups of free-roaming wild horses in the West, saying they will have to go to Congress if they think the animals are being treated inhumanely and need more protection.

Senior U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben granted a temporary restraining order on Aug. 30 that cut short by a day a roundup near the Nevada-Utah line after he determined a helicopter flew too close to a horse in violation of the law.

But he said during a hearing in Reno on Thursday that he was denying a new injunction request from the Texas-based Wild Horse Freedom Federation partly because the Bureau of Land Management has made some positive changes since then. He also said he can't issue injunctions based on speculation about future abuses.

"This court is really not in a position to be the overseer of the BLM," McKibben said. "This court is not going to police all gathers in the U.S. or even all gathers in the district of Northern Nevada."

"This court is not Congress, not an administrative agency. We are not the first branch of government. We are not the second branch. We're here to consider grievances," he said.

His ruling was a disappointment to horse protection advocates who were buoyed by his court order last fall when he took the BLM to task for its actions at the Triple B complex roundup near the Nevada-Utah line northwest of Ely.

"Your honor, you are the last vestige of hope here," said Gordon Cowan, a lawyer for the group. "Basically, there is no other accountability."

Erik Petersen, a Justice Department lawyer representing the BLM, said the agency took McKibben's earlier order seriously and responded with its own internal review of the Triple B roundup "in great part in response to this court's ruling on the temporary restraining order."

The law already dictates the horses be treated humanely, but the agency now has "a half dozen specific instructions" or guidelines for roundup contractors to follow, including prohibiting helicopters from flying too close to animals, Petersen said.

In a formal review made public in December, the BLM said some wild horses in the Triple B complex were whipped in the face, kicked in the head, dragged by a rope around the neck and repeatedly shocked with electrical prods, but the agency concluded none of the mistreatment rose to the level of being inhumane.

BLM Director Bob Abbey did determine additional training was needed for the workers and contractors involved.

The government's wild horse program is intended to protect the herds and the rangelands that support them. About 33,000 wild horses live in 10 Western states, and about half of them live in Nevada. Under the program, thousands of horses are forced into holding pens, where many are vaccinated or neutered before being placed for adoption or sent to long-term corrals in the Midwest.

Animal rights advocates complain that the roundups are inhumane, but ranchers and other groups say they are needed to protect fragile grazing lands that are used by cattle, bighorn sheep and other wildlife.

Petersen said the Triple B roundup ended the day after McKibben's August order. He said the BLM has no plans to resume that roundup, which was the only one specifically targeted in the group's original lawsuit filed last year.

But Cowan said there is no question the BLM will return to the area for another roundup.

"They finished it to avoid your temporary restraining order," Cowan said. "They are coming back whether they say it or not. Triple B is not over."

If that happens, McKibben said, the issue will be ripe again for legal challenge. He repeated several times that he couldn't understand why the critics won't acknowledge that the BLM is taking steps to treat the horses more humanely.

"Is your position that absolutely nothing constructive has happened ... that everything done so far is basically meaningless?" he asked Cowan, who answered "yes" each time.

"I don't happen to agree," the judge said. "I think frankly that hurts your argument."

Cowan said that is the group's position because group Vice President Laura Leigh continues to observe abuse of horses at other gathers.

McKibben said the new BLM guidelines were an improvement.

"While they have not resulted in the embodiment of new rules or regulations, I see some positive things that happened between the time we were in court before and today," he said.

"I would strongly urge the Bureau of Land Management to proceed in that direction. But that's a decision that must be made by the first branch (Congress)."

Comments

Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

1. WendyMazaros Jan. 29, 2012 | 4:51 p.m. Report Abuse

   You would think since this Judge is getting ready for retirement, he would not be afraid to stand up to the BLM and have a fair hearing! This Judge could have left the bench a hero!!! Instead he will leave the beach knowing he is guilty of not doing the right thing and protecting our Wild Horses! Maybe he was thinking about protecting the money he will receive from the Federal government for his retirement!!! What a shame!!!

2. DeniseDeLucia Jan. 28, 2012 | 1:54 p.m. Report Abuse

   Please sign and share this petition to ask the BLM to follow the same laws as the public in regards to humane treatment of mustangs and burros. Thank you for your support. http://www.change.org/petitions/the-president-of-the-united-states-the-blm-is-not-exempt-from-humane-treatment-of-mustangs

3. rmolnar Jan. 28, 2012 | 11:03 a.m. Report Abuse

   Inhumane treatment for horses? Horses are animals. Horses are considered tasty in Japan and France.

4. Jon.Lewis Jan. 28, 2012 | 7:20 a.m. Report Abuse

   Less horses, more antelope and deer. I'm good with that.

5. CynicalObserver Jan. 28, 2012 | 12:05 a.m. Report Abuse

   Barack Obama never got control of his cattle industry oriented cabinet member Ken Salazar, who controls the BLM. Barack Obama does not give an sht about America's wildlife, even those protected by Federal law. Barack Obama is a cowboy jerk, just like George W. Bush. When is someone going to tell Sasha and Malia that "Your daddy is a horse killer"? News stories say the girls are all worried about protecting tigers in Asia and Africa, and lobby their father about it...so you know darn well President Obama is keeping BLM's wild horse, mustang and burro killings a secret from his daughters. Republican party advertising campaign designers, are you listening? "Obama the horse killer." Imagine the ugly commercials which can be run to gross out women voters in the lead up to the November 2012 election. Women voters are one of the keys to President Obama's election.

6. Oscar.Jones Jan. 27, 2012 | 8:12 p.m. Report Abuse

   Got to get those pesky Horses off that DEVELOP-ABLE BLM land so Nevada Politicians can get rich buying and selling the land to Developers. How many Horses are sold to Dog Food and Taco Meat Developers?

7. Robert.Weston Jan. 27, 2012 | 6:35 p.m. Report Abuse

   Electric prods? Whippings? Chasing with copters? Not exactly Roy Rogers or Gene Autry. Come on. BLM can and must do better than that. Electric prods and whippings are inhumane and unnecessary. These roundups should be video taped and ordered by BLM or the Court to monitor what is going on. God is watching us.