A federal judge has temporarily blocked the removal of wild horses that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has labeled “unauthorized livestock” in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in Arizona while a lawsuit seeking to protect them moves forward.
In her July 8 ruling, U.S. District Judge Kris Lanham found that the plaintiffs—the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros (ISPMB) and Betty Nixon—were likely to succeed on portions of their claims and that removing the horses would cause “irreparable harm.”
“Undoubtedly, both USFS and the public have an interest in the government’s lawful management of these lands,” Lanham wrote….