Some horse advocates buck at new plan to save wild mustangs

Animal welfare groups have reached a milestone agreement with ranching interests they say would save wild  mustangs from slaughter but the compromise has opened a nasty split among horse protection advocates.The Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals say their proposal backed by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the American Farm Bureau Federation would eliminate the threat of slaughter for thousands of free-roaming horses primarily by spending millions of dollars on expanding fertility controls on the range.As part of the deal presented to the Bureau of Land Management, they're willing to drop long-held opposition to controversial roundups of the horses — fighting words for the largest mustang advocacy groups that have been in court for years defending the animals' ability to forage with cattle and sheep in 10 western states.