Friends of Animals wins victory for Montana’s beloved Pryor Mountain herd
Litigation - Article Series: from All-Creatures.org Articles Archive

FROM

Friends of Animals
July 2016

We are thrilled the court didn’t let the BLM get away violating the law. Judge Watters’ decision in Friends of Animals’ lawsuit recognizes that BLM was removing wild horses from the Pryor Mountains before considering a reasonable alternative.

The beloved Pryor Mountain wild horses of Montana, the last wild horse herd in Montana, will no longer be assaulted by Bureau of Land Management roundups following Friends of Animals’ (FoA) victory in court Friday!

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters ruled in favor of Friends of Animals’ in a lawsuit the group brought against the agency last year when it announced the round-up and permanent removal of 20 young wild horses between the ages of 1 and 3 in the Pryor Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA) and the continual removal of six to 12 wild horses on an annual basis.

“We are thrilled the court didn’t let the BLM get away violating the law. Judge Watters’ decision in Friends of Animals’ lawsuit recognizes that BLM was removing wild horses from the Pryor Mountains before considering a reasonable alternative—determining what the appropriate population for the area is and whether the range could potentially support more wild horses,” said Jennifer Best, associate director of FoA’s Wildlife Law Program. “Judge Waters also ruled in Friends of Animals’ favor that BLM could not ignore its promise to the public to do a more thorough analysis of the Appropriate Management Level (AML) before removing wild horses. I hope this decision sends a signal to BLM that it cannot get away with ignoring its commitments and duties to protect these amazing wild animals, who are actually underpopulated.” 

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