FARMINGTON, N.M. – The Navajo Nation canceled a planned wild horse hunt aimed at thinning a herd in an Arizona area after a protest against the hunt was planned.

The Farmington Daily Times reports a notice on the Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website says the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources rescinded on Monday a proclamation declaring the 2018 feral horse management hunt, which was designed to remove 60 horses from the Carrizo Mountains near Teec Nos Pos in northeast Arizona.

Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye says the hunt will be postponed.

Horse advocates, including members of the Facebook group Indigenous Horse Nation Protector Alliance, organized a rally for Friday in Window Rock, Arizona, to protest the hunt.

A 2016 study conducted by the Navajo Fish and Wildlife Department says there are more than 38,000 feral horses on Navajo Nation land.