The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) has denied a proposal that would have classified wild horses as an endangered species.

Last year, Friends of Animals and the Cloud Foundation petitioned Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and the FWS to grant North American wild horses endangered species status on grounds that the animals were ecologically threatened. The advocates claimed that the wild horses represent a distinct population segment because the wild horses differed from domestic counterparts physically and psychologically.

After reviewing the petition, the FWS determined that the advocates did not present substantial information supporting the claim that the wild horses represent a distinct population segment or that the animals are threatened or endangered “at this time.”

Paula Todd King, spokeswoman for The Cloud Foundation, was unavailable for comment