Judge stops BLM from sterilizing SE Oregon wild horses

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A federal judge has halted the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s plans to remove the ovaries of wild horses to stop them from propagating in southeast Oregon.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the horses from the Warm Springs Herd Management Area cannot be sterilized with the procedure until the outcome of a court case brought by animal rights groups.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael W. Mosman said Friday that the groups’ claims that the federal government should allow someone to monitor the surgeries are likely valid.

Animal welfare groups, including the American Wild Horse Campaign, say that an outside veterinarian should be allowed to watch the sterilizations and place non-intrusive cameras where the horses are held.

The federal government has long wrestled with how to stem the number of wild horses that roam Eastern Oregon, including offering them up for adoption.

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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com