On Jan. 21, the Government of Alberta announced the feral horse capture season. Until the beginning of March, permit holders can corral their regulated number of free-ranging equines and cart them off to start their new life. All in an effort to manage the feral horse population and the ecosystem along the eastern slopes.
I’m going to put the question out there: Do feral horses need to be managed?
Before this gets started, I’m going to state that I’m not only a horse lover, but have spent the majority of my 30 years breeding, riding, training and writing about the animals. I’ve watched horses win Olympic medals and be blanketed with roses after the Kentucky Derby. I’ve also seen horses starving in the desert, and rescues overrun with the unwanted and unneeded.
And, I believe feral horses need to be managed.
It’s hard not to focus on the animals when considering the capture season, but the underlying issue is the damage that’s being done to the native grasslands within the eastern slopes. The horses aren’t the only creatures damaging the plant community — elk, deer, cattle and recreational users are also culprits.
The elk and deer populations are managed by hunting, the cattle by ranchers — why shouldn’t horses be managed to maintain the native plants?
It’s a similar concept as used by horse farmers to prevent overgrazing in their pastures. When a horse overgrazes a pasture, not only has long-lasting damage been caused to the field but the horse’s food source is destroyed, compromising the well being of the animal.
But when I say management, I don’t necessarily mean slaughter. But while there is a chance these horses are off to be riding horses or purchased as a companion for a little girl, there is also a chance the horse will end up in a slaughterhouse.
This is a gamble that comes hand in hand with horse dealing. When I sell horses, I have no control over where the horse ultimately ends up. Even Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand is thought to have met his end in a Japanese slaughterhouse. He earned more than $3 million on the track, but was unsuccessful as a sire and disposed of by his owners.
For many, feral horse management is synonymous with slaughter. But I don’t think it has to be. As Bob Henderson (president of the Wild Horses of Alberta Society) pointed out, advocates could work with trappers to purchase horses.
If the trappers are looking to keep and train the horses — let them. But if they’re looking to make a quick buck, advocates can try to outbid kill buyers. Of course, this can get costly.
Perhaps the ministry would consider controlling population growth by implementing an adoption program that keeps pace with the number of horses that need to be removed to preserve the environment.
Or perhaps reproductive management could slow population growth? The use of porcine zona pellucida immunocontraception has been studied on wild horses in the U.S. and was found to provide about 90 per cent infertility in mares. The injection can be given by hand or by disposable dart.
Of course, there are many people who think wild horses should be left alone.
But would you rather see the animals overgrazing their ecosystem and compromising their welfare, or being properly managed to maintain the health of animals and environment?
