W.H.O.A.S.

ALBERTA'S  WILD  HORSES  FACES  EXTINCTION  

Nestled in the foothills West of Sundre Alberta, remain a few hundred head of wild horses.  The typical herd of horses consists of approximately five head of horses.  They roam a vast area of approximately 10,000 square miles.  One would think with such a huge area to wander about that there would be plenty of room for all, however, not so according to a few area ranchers and big industry.  They claim that the horses eat their cattle's grass reserved for them on lesed crown land.  However, the cattle out number the horses by at least 500 to 1 during the summer months.  The lumber companies claim that the horses eat the tops off seedling trees, also unsubstantiated.  Yet they are clear-cut logging many thousand of acres of old forest.  We ask who is damaging what?

The aboringinal elders cannot remember a time without the horses being there.  Settlers of the area such as John McDougall recall in his journals in the 1800's of the wild horses being preyed upon by the wolves.  Nowadays the horses concern is far greater than just wolves.  Over the past fifty years or so the horses have been the scapegoat for all that ails the forestry and have been gunned down for sport, used for bear bait, snared, roped, corralled and sent to the slaughterhouse.

Since the inception of WHOAS in 2002, there has been over 20 cases of horses found shot and left to rot in the forestry and in-spite of a $10,000 reward being offered the killer remains at large.  In the most recent case in November of 2007, where a young foal was found shot, the authorities as reported in the Red Deer Advocate November 16, 2007 edition, stated that the hole in the horses head may not have been caused by a bullet but rather could have been as a result of birds pecking a hole in the skull.  Futhermore, it was said that the horse could have been sick and fell into the gulley it was lying in and couldn't get up.  However, the foal didn't show signs of disease as its body weight looked normal according to our pictures.

It would seem that no wants to solve the case of the wanton slaughter of our animals of heritage.  These horses are considered feral not wild, and not domestic they fall into a grey area, a no mans land with no real protection.  Hence we have the Stray Animals Act, the category under which they are classified.  These so-called strays, or ranch horses turned drifter contradicts DNA research.

DNA testing submitted by WHOAS to the University of Texas Equine Genetics Lab revealed that these Alberta wild horses are of a cold blood type of pony with genetic similarities to the Fell, Shire, and Dales horses, with a Spanish connection.  Hence we believe they are a type of breed in their own right.  We want to ensure that the few remaining wild horses of Alberta remain in their wild state, roaming freely in the foothills of Alberta.

You can help the horses by writing to the following governing agencies responsible for the Alberta Wild Horses Welfare.  Please forward a copy of your letter to your local media, along with the governments response to your letter, so they too are informed of this on going atrocity.

HONORABLE TED MORTON - Minister - Sustainable Resource Development - 420 Legislature Bldg - 10800-97 Ave  Edmonton, AB  T5K 2B6

PREMIER ED STELMACH - 307 Legislature Bldg - 10800-97 Ave,  Edmonton, AB  T5K 2B1

:submitted by Doreen Henderson of WHOAS: