Appeal seeking Idaho horse herd sterilization is dismissed

BOISE – A federal appeals court has dismissed an effort to allow the sterilization of a herd of wild horses in Idaho.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month granted a request by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to stop the effort.

Documents filed by BLM seeking the dismissal of its own appeal didn’t include a reason.

The BLM in 2015 released a plan to sterilize horses in the Saylor Creek Herd Management Area and replenish the herd with wild horses captured elsewhere.

The American Wild Horse Campaign sued, fearing the case could set a precedent. A U.S. District Court ruled that the herd had to be able to produce healthy foals.

Federal officials didn’t immediately return calls from the Associated Press.