Virginia Range Horse Deadline Passes, No Bids

The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) says they have not received any proposals from advocates to take over managing the 3,000 wild horses in the Virginia Range. 

The American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) renewed its call to the NDA to begin negotiations over the Cooperative Agreements, establishing a public/private partnership for the humane management of free-roaming wild horses on the Virginia Range.

The AWHC called for the negotiations after the NDA announced there were no bids received.

A lawsuit was filed by the AWHC to stop the proposal, claiming it violated the Cooperative Agreements between them and the NDA.

The agreements were established in 2013 and 2015, in which the state was required to notify the AWHC about the removal of Virginia Range horses from the wild, and gives the AWHC the right to purchase the horses before they are sent to slaughter auctions. The agreements also proposed population control through a humane birth control program.

The AWHC received a 30-day termination notice from the NDA in October 2017 for both of those agreements. 

The negotiations are to address the issues that terminating the agreements present, and to resolve the dispute for the benefit of the horses and residents of the Virginia Range area as the horses' habitats are decreasing.

Originally posted by KTVN

KTVN