‘Wild discrepancies’: Advocates pressure province to stop wild horse population control

A yearslong debate between wildlife advocates and the provincial government over what to do with Alberta's wild horses is reaching a boiling point.

Alberta wildlife advocates are accusing the province of an unscientific and “cruel” push to control the wild horse population—and they’re setting out to prove facts are on their side.

The Help Alberta Wildies Society—or HAWS—has been fighting the UCP government on its wild horse strategy for years.

The province claims there is a growing number of animals roaming through the province and “destroying the ecosystem,” so contraceptives and an adoption plan are needed.

But HAWS argues the population is actually static or declining—small enough to not pay any mind.

HAWS wants to prove its point through a new aerial initiative.

“We rent our own helicopters, and we go up and fly the same (counting) zones as the government so we can compare our notes and numbers,” leader Darrell Glover said.

“And we have had some really wild discrepancies.

“The government has a specific narrative of overpopulation, which is totally false.”

Glover and another HAWS volunteer will spend 50 hours in the air this month, racking up a bill of roughly $48,000 in crowdfunded money to prove their point.

They argue there is no need to control a population that is already under constant pressure from natural predators and poachers.

“So, it’s important that we fly these parallel surveys to come up with numbers that are truthful and keep the government accountable,” Glover said.

“They want to push a narrative to the public.”

‘Huge’ discrepancies

Friday marked HAWS' second day in the provincial “Elbow Zone”—one of six Alberta areas where the wild horse population is tracked.

The rented helicopter stuck to an extremely thorough zigzag route across mountainous terrain so as not to miss any horses.

With most of the scanning work complete, 124 wild horses had been counted.

Of those, fewer than 10 were “sub-adult,” or not fully grown.

Multiple groups comprised a stallion with three or four mares, but no foals.

Glover says that proves his point.

“If there was an overpopulation problem, there would be young horses throughout these groups,” he told CTV News.

“But there’s not. They’re falling prey to natural predators, like wolves and bears.”

On the province’s last count, more than 1,400 horses roamed Alberta.

That number is criticized by HAWS, with some volunteers claiming they count domestic animals, but it’s still a sizeable population.

Glover believes the province has enough space to go around.

Provincial problem

The province wants to adopt out 30 wild horses and use contraception on 90 others.

It maintains its Feral Horse Management Framework—last updated in 2023—is protecting the environment and based on what stakeholders were asking for.

“Right now, the numbers have reached the thresholds that the framework has determined that action needs to be taken,” Forestry Minister Todd Loewen said.

“We set up the Feral Horse Advisory Committee, and they came up with a framework that (included) consultation from a wide group of people.”

Glover and the rest of the HAWS volunteers call that committee “stacked.”

“The ranching industry has been lobbying the government for many years to get rid of the wild horses so they can provide more grass for cattle,” he told CTV News.

“The less horses, the more room for grazing allotments.

“They all know there’s no ecological damage. If there was, they’d prove it.”

Limits have been set out for wild horse populations for all six zones.

Loewen calls those numbers sustainable and claims they’ll help the environment.

“When we look at the broad range of people that were involved and looked at all the facts and the science and everything, then I think we’ve got a pretty balanced response to this,” he said.

The minister won’t win over Glover, though the HAWS leader says he’d still like to have a conversation.

“He’s welcome to fly with us,” Glover said.

“Come see the real number.”