Wild Horse Cull in Alberta

[Catherine]

I understand that the situation has really heated up. There are strong feelings on every side of the issue. Ultimately it is a matter of population control and too many horses and the easy way is to dispose of some(does it sound like Sochi).
Not every body likes that solution. Of those who trap the horses some are responsible and do try to find good outcomes. Still too many wild horses are just being slaughtered as food. They use the word processed, but they really mean killed.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/26/...-heats-up/

There are some dedicated people trying to save the horses.
http://www.calgarysun.com/2014/02/26/wil...o-fight-on

The wild horses are descendants of domestic horses used in the logging and mining operations from more than a hundred years ago.
I think that means we have a responsibility towards them.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ja...-1.2539550
Fortunately some people are acting on that responsibility.


Video of the horses.
http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/3162588544001

[Tobi]

(02-27-2014, 12:28 PM)Catherine Wrote: The wild horses are descendants of domestic horses used in the logging and mining operations from more than a hundred years ago.
I think that means we have a responsibility towards them.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ja...-1.2539550
Fortunately some people are acting on that responsibility.

Yes that is so true Catherine.
And yes, it does sound like Sochi. I am glad some people are doing their best to help.

[Catherine]

Since the horses are descendants of animals that were working horses, we have a responsibility to look after them.
There are thousands of acres of Crown Land for them to roam. Space is not a problem. Alberta is huge. They even range up into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. They have become a wild breed and they are now part of the ecology. They do have predators. There are wolves, coyotes and cougars who would take care of an old or sick horse. The weather thins out the weak ones as well. I think they are remarkable in the way they have adapted. They get fairly shaggy and long haired in the winter.

There is just no need to see them as a problem to be eliminated. They are very much a part of Alberta's heritage.