Nevada Wild Horse Management Agreement Approved by Board of Agriculture

Carson City, Nevada – March 4, 2015– The Nevada Board of Agriculture has voted to approve a cooperative agreement between theNevada Department of Agriculture(NDA) and Return to Freedom, the founding organization for the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign). This agreement aims to humanely manage horses in the Virginia Range, which spans over 280,000 acres and is home to more than 1,500 horses. This decision marks a significant step forward in public-private partnerships that benefit wild horses, enhance public safety, and support Nevada taxpayers.

In March 2013, Return to Freedomentered into a cooperative agreementwith the NDA to prevent horses captured by the state from being sent to slaughter auctions, with the understanding that a management agreement would follow. The newly approved management agreement allowsadvocacyorganizations to take measures to prevent the capture and removal of horses from the wild.

“This has truly been a team effort to protect theVirginia Range horsesand will serve as a model private-public partnership for thehumane managementof wild horses to keep these cherished animals free on the range where they belong,” said Deniz Bolbol, AWHC spokesperson spearheading the Virginia Range protection initiative alongside Nevada wild horse protection groups.

“This cooperative agreement for the on-the-range management of the Virginia Range mustangs is a win-win situation for Nevada taxpayers, advocates, and the horses. The wild horses of the Virginia Range are an important cultural and historic resource, and it just makes sense that the local community would be proud to protect them here,” said Neda DeMayo, founder and CEO of Return to Freedom.

The Virginia Range extends from Reno in the north to Carson City in the south, and from Highway 395 to the west to Alternate Highway 95 to the east. The state has jurisdiction over the historicVirginia Range horses, which have roamed the northern Nevada mountain range near Reno for over a century. Because they reside on state, local, and private land rather than federal land, they are not protected under the federal Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and are classified as "feral" or "estray livestock" by the NDA.

Return to Freedomis dedicated to preserving the freedom, diversity, and habitat of America’s wild horses through sanctuary, national education, and conservation, while enriching the human spirit through direct experience with the natural world. Return to Freedom provides a safe haven to over 360 wild horses and burros at its sanctuaries in Central Coastal California.

TheAmerican Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign), founded in 2004 by Return to Freedom, is a coalition of more than 50 horseadvocacy, public interest, and conservation organizations dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come.