Lawsuit Stalls Fallon Horse Auction

FALLON, Nev. - A late Friday night ruling has thrown the FallonLivestockExchange into chaos. A Reno Federal Court judge granted a wild horseadvocacygroup a temporary restraining order, delaying today's auction by five hours.Advocacygroups claim the horses were gathered illegally from public ranges.

What was supposed to be a routine horse auction in Fallon turned into a nightmare for thelivestockexchange crew.

"It was awkward and cumbersome and it wasn't anyone's plan except it was our plan,"Ellie Phipps Price, a supporter of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign), said.

Judge Miranda Du stated that advocates raised "serious questions" about how these horses were rounded up.

"They were from McDermitt, and inquired to the Forest Service and inquired to theBLM, and went 'oh my gosh, we have wild horses coming off of federal land and they're going to be sold for auction and it's wrong,"Laura Leigh, founder of Horse Education, said.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 protects unbranded horses, but the question remains whether the horses came from federal or tribal land.

"Our main concern is in protecting America's wild horses,"Price said. "For America's wild horses, which are federally protected, slaughtering is not an option."

Nearly 500 horses were slated for auction, but advocates claim more than 150 horses have no marks of ownership or brands.

"Physically went through, counted them, looked for brands, it took a while for us to do that, but it's the ultimate betrayal,"Leigh said.

Advocates arrived as early as 7 a.m., an hour before the auction, to ensure none were sold.

Monte Bruck, the manager of the FallonLivestockExchange, said the order was excessive, adding that it kept the horses out of their element longer than necessary.

For now, the fate of the wild horses lies in the hands of the court. The hearing for the fate of the unbranded horses is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 21.

Originally Posted By KOLO-TV