Supporters of the wild horses have held a couple of rallies so far this month attempting to get their voices heard about the current capture season and overall getting them better protected. There are two more coming :
Saturday, February 22, 2014
1:00pm
Red Deer City Hall – 914-48th Ave, Red Deer, Alberta
Come Rally with us and make our voices HERD again. This time on a Saturday!!!
The one and only goal of our effort is saving our Wild Horses. We are Canadians, Albertans, as people and a province we have come to love the Wild Horses in our Foothills. On Saturday we will unite and speak on behalf of the beloved beauties we aim to keep around for years to come, The Wild Horses.
We have asked the government questions and have not got sufficient answers.
We are concerned that NO count has been conducted since ……March of 2013 by ESRD after the flooding and record snow fall. We NEED an official recount!!!
We are concerned that scientific methods of population control are not being considered a viable solution.
We need answers regarding the steering committee and the interests that make decisions. We believe there to be a great conflict of interest here.
I believe we have been fair in the questions we have asked and we have a right to answers!
Our bottom line is…….. STOP THE CULL……… COUNT THE HORSES!!!!!
The one in Calgary is this Saturday.
Your wild horses desperately need your help to save them from the irrational and ludicrous decisions being made by the ESRD. Since this whole episode began and after hearing Premier Redford’s statements to the media yesterday, it has become very obvious that she and the Minister, Robin Campbell, are just puppets in the hands of the senior bureaucrats of the ESRD. It is like a ventriloquist’s puppet (Redford and Campbell) that seems to be talking to you when it really is just the ventriloquist (ESRD). This goes to prove that our elected MLAs and the Premier have absolutely no interest in listening to a vast majority of Albertans. Again it seems they are told what to say and how to act by these bureaucrats who have nothing to lose since their pensions are secure.
I am angry as you can tell as the ESRD seems to be listening to the companies and industries that put money into the Conservatives. Research and science are discounted as being “emotional” and disregarded. Financial gain for a few individuals and companies opposed to the free-roaming wild horses takes precedence over anything. It is evident that they care little about our living natural resources and even less about what the citizens of Alberta have to say. They just refuse to admit that they may be wrong. It is proven over and over again when it comes to environmental issues – clearcut logging, damage to our watersheds, destruction of habitat and endangering of several species of our Alberta wildlife, including the horses – there is rampant mismanagement. Why would anyone trust the government of Alberta when it talks about environmental stewardship? There is none. A sad day.
Join in the rallies if you can. Continue to email and write the Premier. Especially contact your local MLA expressing your concerns and ask for honest answers and not just a vocalization of what ESRD wants them to say. Don’t give up the fight.
Bob
The Wild Horses of Alberta Society 
My question is:
Are the horses competition for other wildlife or ranchers cattle. Which are the invasive species cattle or the wild horses?
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These animals need to be protected under the endangered species act. The horse is a vital part of the eco system as well and such a great part of the heritage of Canada as a whole. I can not see why at least some of them cannot be moved to Banff and Jasper National Parks. Protected and promoting tourism with an educational explanation of the wild horse of Canada.
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I used to live in Sundrie and enjoyed driving around looking at the wild horses.A year ago I took a lady from the states on a drive from Nordegg to Sundrie and spend 2 days driving around looking at the wild horses and she was amazed bt them.I now live in BC and planning a trip to the Ya Ha Tinda this summer to show friends the wild horses.It would be a shame to see these horses gone.The goverment of Alberta should listen to the people of their province
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A horse a muskox and human all live in Alberta today. I know about 700 species of native tundra / boreal forest that are extinct.
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Feb 18 @11:34 am – Just got off the phone with Rob Kessler, ESRD, who, after consulting with Don Livingston, indicated to me that NO DECISION has been made in relation to extending the capture season!!!!
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Extending the capture season will encroach on foaling season. That is an act of cruelty. ASPCA voted in favor of the cull, yet they are supposed to oversee the capture process to see that it is done humanely. That is an extreme conflict of interest. What happened to the Coggins testing?? Those captured horses need to be quarantined until confirmed clear, approx. 10 days – 2 weeks. Where are they? I only saw 3 foals at Bradley’s. Where are the 3 mothers of those foals. Bradley sold a mare and her colt to a woman, where are they? Bradley said he trapped 9 horses, where are the other 6? If Bradley dumped those other 6 horses at a feedlot, all the other horses at that feedlot need to be tested and held. You cannot legally send a horse to slaughter unless you have owned that horse for 6 months and you must sign an Equine Information Document. RCMP should be contacted. RCMP voted in favor of the cull, so I have to wonder just how hard they will look to see where these horses are going. Another extreme conflict of interest.
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I hope we can recruit more celebrities like Jann Arden. What about Curtis Hallock, the guide from Grande Cache who was on Mantracker. He rode a beautiful “mountain horse” he said he had gotten from a wild herd. With his First Nations heritage and obvious compassion and admiration for wild horses maybe he would support non interference with the horses and will oppose the
bureaucrats who are trying to eliminate them.
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my name is Gabrielle, i am 12 years old, and i am absolutely appalled that our government would do this to innocent animals. The horses of Alberta are the expression of nature in this province and what we are doing is killing that. I deeply apologize for not making the rally earlier today in red deer. As i have said before i am only 12 years old but me and my friends want to stop the cull as well and we will help in whatever way possible, and that is a promise!!
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The heartless, cruel Alberta government is killing horses that have potential to be wonderful companions, strong mounts, and best friends. This upsets me a lot that beautiful animals are going to die a terrible death that they do not deserve. They are meant to take care of themselves in the wild. At the very least these horses should be given to people cabable of giving them what they deserve. Sorry I could not attend the Rally. I will do whatever I can to stop this! This is sick, cruel, and disgusting!
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I am just so saden by our government in allowing the continuation of the cull of these beautiful animals! I have asked our company that I work for if they would allow me to put a piece in our March company newsletter with this web site and the petition link. They did not hesitate and would have me put a picture of the rally on Feb. 15 that I went to and this web site and the petition link, so this will be in our March newsletter. Vista Projects has about 350 employees so that is a great number to spread this news to. So many people here are disgusted with the cull so they are behind me with this.
Thank you Bob for all your hard work and the people standing behind you, somehow we have to succeed for these beautiful wild horses! It has to stop!
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the ludicrosity of a government that closes the Bow Valley Parkway each night from 8:00pm to 8:00am, March to June annually to protect wolves and grizzlies while at the same time allowing a cull of our wild horses to go forward indicates a complete lack of coordination – the left hand doesnt know what the right hand is doing. Obviously the wolves and grizzlies dont compete with the ranchers cattle for grass.
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