Photo of Silver King wild horses in the area of proposed removal taken earlier toady

Wild Horse Roundup Postponed, Access Once Again Is At Issue?

UPDATE: Access issues have supposedly been determined and a location designated. We will be out tomorrow and will report on what we can, or can not, see.

(CALIENTE,NV) A wild horse roundup scheduled to begin today November 10th outside of Caliente Nevada has been postponed. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is saying “contractor issues” are the reason.

Laura Leigh, President and founder of Wild Horse Education, is at the Silver King roundup. This area was the start point of litigation Leigh had with the BLM over access to government wild horse and burro roundups and in holding facilities. That case won strong language in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for Leigh’s First Amendment Rights to document and report to the public. Litigation was joined by fifteen news organizations nationwide through Amicus. Leigh says she believes access is once again at issue.

“At Reveille, the roundup before this one, I was confronted by the contractor and told not to publish pictures of himself or the crew handling horses,” said Leigh, “I informed BLM that I would continue to report on removal activities, and did so, at Reveille. I have fought for the better part of the last five years to gain meaningful access, I will not be bullied into giving that up.”

Mediation ordered by the Ninth Circuit had a settlement on access between Leigh and BLM Nevada earlier this year. Part of the settlement allowed public tours to resume at a closed facility in Fallon Nevada. Last month BLM did a tour of the facility and multiple wild horses were adopted as a result.

BLM national has been contacted for an official response. As of yet no reply has been received.

Leigh’s Ninth Circuit ruling can be viewed here: http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2012/02/14/11-16088.pdf

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Wild Horse Education is devoted to gaining protections for America’s wild horses and burros from abuse, slaughter and extinction. Main website: http://WildHorseEducation.org