Judge Clears Sale of Mustangs

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A federal judge in Nevada says the government can proceed with plans to sell more than 400 mustangs gathered at a national wildlife refuge to a contractor critics say has a history of reselling them for slaughter. U.S. District Judge Miranda Du refused Friday to grant an emergency order blocking the sale because she said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has tightened restrictions on the contractor that's been unable to account for more than half of the 260 horses it's purchased since 2010. However, Du said she'll give horse advocates another chance next week to prove why the horses from the refuge on the Nevada-Oregon line are of historical and cultural significance deserving of the same protection as those managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.