In Defense of Animals v. U.S. Department of the Interior

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent because I cannot agree that the roundup of the wild horses by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) complied with the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act (the Act).

It is undisputed that Congress enacted this legislation to protect wild horses and burros “from capture, branding, harassment or death” and to do so while the horses and burros are “considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.” 16 U.S.C. § 1331 . Congress made an express finding that “wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people.” Id. Congress was concerned that “these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene.” Id. From these explicit Congressional expressions, we can discern four important legislative purposes: (1) acknowledgment of the importance of wild horses as “living symbols” of our Western heritage; (2) recognition that these treasured symbols “are fast disappearing from the American scene;” (3) articulation of…

Wild horses — mustangs—and burros are part of our nation’s heritage from the American West; a heritage Congress has sought to preserve. That these animals should roam the Western spaces appeals to the nature lover and historian in each of us.

But these animals eat and trample. Even in the wide open West of our nation, there is just so much forage; there are also many vulnerable cultural artifacts underfoot.

These animals also multiply. And when too many of them abound in limited land, the eongressionally-appointed stewards of that land must act to protect the environment.

This case is about whether those stewards have followed Congress’s rules and their own agency’s regulations in acting to thin the herds of these sympathetic, even inspiring, but voracious, animals.

Plaintiffs — two non-profit organizations dedicated to protecting wild horses and burros, and members of these organizations — appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the United States Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) (collectively “Defendants”) regarding the roundup, or “gather,” of approximately 1,600 wild horses and 160 burros from the Twin Peaks Herd…

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS; No. 12-17804

DREAMCATCHER WILD HORSE AND

BURRO SANCTUARY; BARBARA D.C. No. CLARKE; CHAD HANSON; LINDA 2:10-cv-01852-

HAY, MCE-DAD

Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v. OPINION

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR;

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT;

SALLY JEWELL,* Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior; NEIL KORNZE,** Director of the Bureau of Land Management; KEN COLLUM,*** Field Manager of Eagle Lake Field Office, Defendants-Appellees,

SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL;

SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL

FOUNDATION,

Intervenor-Defendants–Appellees. 2 IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS V. DEP’T OF THE INTERIOR

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California Morrison C. England, Chief District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted August 29, 2013—Pasadena, California

Filed May 12, 2014

Before: Mary M. Schroeder, Johnnie B. Rawlinson, and Carlos T. Bea, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Bea; Dissent by Judge Rawlinson

* Sally Jewell is substituted for her predecessor,…