Wild mustangs likely saved from slaughter at auction

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RENO, Nev. • Wild horse protection advocates say they believe they've raised enough money to buy 41 horses at a state auction in Nevada that they fear otherwise are headed to slaughter.

Carrol Abel of the Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund told The Associated Press she can't estimate the final cost but will spend thousands of dollars if necessary at the auction late Wednesday in Fallon, about 60 miles east of Reno.

The stray horses don't enjoy federal protection and are considered property of the state, which captured them because of the threat they pose to motorists when they wander onto state highways along the Virginia Range southeast of Reno.

Abel says most of the money to save the mustangs was raised by a national coalition, the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign.