A federal judge has temporarily halted a BLM plan to perform ovariectomies on 100 wild mares gathered from the Warn Springs Herd Management Area, in Oregon. | Photo: iStock

A federal judge has temporarily halted a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plan to surgically remove the ovaries of 100 wild mares recently gathered from the Warm Springs Herd Management Area, in Oregon.

Earlier this year, The Cloud Foundation, wild horse advocate Ginger Kathrens, and the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) filed a complaint in U.S. District Court, in Oregon, seeking to prevent the BLM from performing ovariectomies on grounds that the procedures would subject the horses to a high risk of infection, death, and procedure-related miscarriage. The surgeries were slated to begin this month.

On Nov. 2, Judge Michael W. Mosman issued a preliminary injunction stopping the BLM from performing ovariectomies until the court issues a final ruling