15 Wild Horses Captured in Alberta This Year

After much debate, emotion, and protests, Alberta's wild horse capture season concluded this year with only 15 feral animals being rounded up.

The province issued three licenses this year to capture roughly 200 wild horses near Sundre. Licensees can keep the horses for personal use or sell them for slaughter.

Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development plans to perform the yearly feral horse count in the coming weeks. An advisory panel, consisting of veterinarians and a horse industry association, will then make a recommendation for a feral horse capture season for fall 2014.

The province reported an aerial survey estimated there were 980 wild horses near Sundre in 2013, an increase from 778 in 2012. However, the Canadian Wild Horse Foundation argues that the count was conducted before massive flooding in June and this year's harsh winter, suggesting the number could be much lower. They advocated for a delay in the capture until a recount was conducted.

Provincial biologists have previously stated they do not consider the animals true wildlife, but rather feral descendants of domestic horses used in logging and mining operations in the early 1900s. Conversely, the Canadian Wild Horse Foundation contends that the horses are native wildlife and should be protected accordingly.

Originally Posted By CBC NEWS