Wild horse advocates worry about Alberta's plans to thin herds

What to do about Alberta's wild horse numbers The province says the wild horse population is growing and is wrecking the landscape. Meanwhile, researchers say that's not true.

Alberta's wild horses are once again being targeted by the province and once again, it's spurring concern.

"What is the problem? Why are the horses such a burr under their saddle?" said Darrell Glover, who has run the Help Alberta Wildies Society (HAWS) since 2014.

A decade ago, the province counted 880 wild horses.

In 2024, it says there are 1,478.

Back then, a cull was halted after stiff opposition.

Now, the province has new plans to manage the population.

"There's no cull going on," said Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen.

This time, the province says no horses will be killed – instead, some will be given birth control and others will be adopted.

Glover has rescued some abandoned foals but says not all wild horses are adoptable and reducing the population could lead to its demise.

"By removing their bloodlines, it's essentially a cull anyway," Glover said.

The province says wild horses are destroying land.

"Feral horses are a factor, as are other things," Loewen said.

Wild horse researchers disagree.

"It's not science-based," said Glover, who has been keeping records on the population and its environmental impacts for 10 years.

"(Wild horses) are part of the ecosystem and they have benefits to the ecosystem," said wildlife biologist Wayne McCrory.

McCrory's latest report follows one he wrote in 2015 exposing the lack of evidence supporting a cull.

Wild horses caused very little damage to the land, according to that report.

It found most damage was caused by things like clear-cut logging, oil and gas development, off-road vehicles and cattle.

"(The province) should be focusing on restructuring the health from the cumulative effects, not just scapegoating the wild horses," McCrory said.

The minister says he consulted a committee, which agreed to the plan once the horse population hit a threshold.

"Everybody on the committee knew exactly how the numbers were going to be derived," Loewen said.

Some members of that committee disagree.

"There's a lot of discrepancy involved," Glover said.

Glover and McCrory say bears and cougars, the elements and humans are already decreasing the population, and Alberta should pass legislation to protect its wild horses.

"Once they're gone, you can't replace this unique species," Glover said.

The province has not said when it might move forward with population control plans.

Members of the committee suspect it may happen this winter.