Friends of Animals v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FRIENDS OF ANIMALS, Plaintiff, Civil Action No. 18-2029 (RDM) v. UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (“WHA”),

16 U.S.C. § 1331

et seq., was enacted in 1971 to protect dwindling equine populations on public lands. Since the law’s passage, the numbers of wild horses and burros have rebounded, requiring the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM” or the “Bureau”) to balance the animals’ conservation against other public land uses. This balance requires the…