At least 30 horses were found shot to death in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in October, highlighting the tensions in Arizona among scientists, hunters, government agencies and horse advocates. Read more»

A federal judge in Arizona has ruled that 18 horses seized by the U.S. Forest Service should not be re-introduced into the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests because they are considered unregulated livestock instead of protected wild horses. Read more»

Attorneys for the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros argued in federal court Friday that 18 horses seized by the U.S. Forest Service should be moved to a national forest, not sold to free market buyers or, potentially, slaughterers. Read more»

Later this year, the U.S. Forest Service will finalize a management plan for a herd of horses near the Heber Wild Horse Territory - which touches six cattle grazing allotments in Black Canyon - and though the public comment period ended last year, the community is still split. Read more»

Wild horse advocates have created a stable of volunteers hoping to prove a concept of fertility control will work better to keep the population of wild horses in a healthy range than other practices currently used by the federal government. Read more»

Thousands of wild horses and burros roam millions of acres of public land in 10 Western states, including Arizona. The Bureau of Land Management estimated last year that there are more than three times as many as there should be. Read more»

The number of wild horses in the West has soared, but animal welfare groups bristle at measures to control them, including eased limits on sales of captured horses to private parties — which raises fears about the animals possibly being funneled to slaughterhouses to become food for pets and people. Read more»

Every year, thousands of people visit the Salt River to experience the riparian area in the Sonoran Desert. But they'll likely also see piles of horse manure, from wild horses that wildlife experts say is a harmful invasive species. Read more» 1

The more than 400 wild burros that are an economic boon for the small town of Oatman are considered an over-populated nuisance by some in western Arizona. The animals are a danger along roadways, and compete with native wild animals for food. The BLM is experimenting with birth control to manage the herds. Read more»

The U.S. Forest Service said Thursday it has put a planned roundup of up to 100 horses in the Tonto National Forest on hold until September, when Congress returns from recess. Read more»

The federal government’s program of rounding up wild horses and burros is costly and does little to stem the growth of herds – and may actually be helping herds grow, a new report said Wednesday. Read more»

Two congressmen wrote to the Department of Interior this week to demand information on the progress of its investigation into whether more than 1,700 federally protected wild horses sold to a Colorado man may have been illegally sent to slaughter. Read more»

Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar says he will tighten regulations of the federal government's wild horse program, restricting the number of horses people can buy and making it easier for the government to prosecute buyers who sell mustangs to slaughter. Read more» 1

A southern Colorado man under investigation for his handling of protected wild horses has admitted to state regulators that he shipped animals out of Colorado in violation of brand inspection laws, officials said. Read more»

What happened to the wild horses Tom Davis bought from the government? The BLM has sold Davis at least 1,700 wild horses and burros since 2009, — 70 percent of the animals purchased through its sale program. Read more» 11