Two men who were charged in January with causing the unlawful death of wild horses have changed their pleas from innocent to guilty.  

The men, Todd Davis, 45, and Joshua Keathley, 36, admitted that they had shot the horses with a semi-automatic rifle.  The shootings took place on Bureau of Land Management property in the mountains in northwestern Nevada in November 2009.  

News reports of the killings and reports of the men's arrest prompted a deluge of letters and email from angry people, not just in the U.S. but around the world, expressing outrage about the shootings.

The men were charged with violating the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act in federal court in Reno.  

Prosecutors said that they had not made a plea agreement with the two men and that they will seek maximum penalties.

The pair face up to a year in jail and $100,000 each in fines.  The sentence will be delivered in September.