Wild Horse Observers Ass'n, Inc. v. New Mexico Livestock Bd.
Summary: Plaintiff Wild Horse Observers Association, Inc. (Association) appealed the District Court's dismissal for failure to state a claim. The Association claimed that Defendant New Mexico Livestock Board (the Board) had unlawfully treated a group of undomesticated, unowned, free-roaming horses near Placitas, New Mexico as âlivestockâ and âestray,â rather than as âwild horsesâ under the Livestock Code. The Appeals Court concluded that âlivestockâ did not include undomesticated, unowned animals, including undomesticated and unowned horses; therefore, undomesticated, unowned horses could not be âestray.â The court also concluded that the Board had to DNA test and relocate the Placitas horses, and that the Association pleaded sufficient facts in its complaint to withstand a motion to dismiss.