Interior Drops Utah Wild Horse Sterilization Plan After Lawsuits

The Bureau of Land Management no longer plans to surgically sterilize wild horses in Utah and seeks to avoid lawsuits filed over the plan by animal groups, according to a filing in a Washington, D.C., federal court.

The agency planned to remove excess horses and use ovariectomies, a procedure that involves removing both ovaries, to lower the Confusion Herd Management population level. But the procedure is risky and most veterinarians recommended it for domesticated horses only, animal groups told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

American Wild Horse Campaign, Return to Freedom, and individual Robert Hammer argued ...