There will be no capture of feral horses in the Sundre equine management zone until at least late 2024, according to a member of provincial feral horse advisory committee (FHAS).
According to a new management framework enacted this fall, the number of horses counted in the zone has reached an active management threshold.
The latest count found 969 horses in the zone, well above the sustainable level of 628 set for the first management threshold. Under the framework, a population cap will be enacted at 1,000 horses in the zone.
Darrell Grover, president and co-founder of the Olds-based Help Alberta Wildies Society (HAWS), posted a video on the group’s Facebook page following a recent meeting of the committee.
“Here’s the good news: the government has said no culls and there is no plan for contraception at this point and that is going to go right through into 2024,” Grover said in the video.
In a follow up Albertan interview, Grover said, “We were concerned that they were going to start contraception in the new year and they are not. I don’t think they can start anything by 2024 because basically the products are not approved in Canada yet; that’s really what it boils down to.
“They don’t have any capture planned at this time. They will look at the numbers again in early 2024 and they will determine if they decide they want to do any removals, it wouldn’t happen until the winter of 2024-25.
“They can’t do it any earlier because of the foaling situations. It is always in the winter when they would do a capture. In other words, from what we gather there won’t be any cull at least until the 2024-25 winter.”
The multi-stakeholder FHAS aims to “balance the value many Albertans place on seeing feral horses on the landscape with matters like public safety, protecting wildlife habitat, supporting local industry and ensuring sustainable use of public lands,” according to its website.
Operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Forestry and Parks, the committee membership includes the Wild Horses of Alberta Society (WHOAS), Alberta Conservation Association, Alberta Fish and Game Association, Livestock Identification Services, RCMP, the Alberta Wilderness Association, and HAWS.
Bob Henderson is a director and government liaison WHOAS.
“Coming out of the (recent) feral horse advisory committee meeting, they are doing some more science and research on population and population management,” Henderson told the Albertan.
“They don’t want to do anything yet until they do another aerial survey come January or February (2024), and so there won’t be any capture at all until probably at the earliest 2025.”
There are about 1,400 feral horses in six equine management zones in the province.
A 2023 count conducted by the province found 969 horses in the Sundre zone, 311 in the Ghost River zone, 97 in Clearwater, 84 in Elbow, 33 in Nordegg, and 18 in Brazeau. The count was conducted by spotters in aircraft.
The horses are descendants of abandoned or released domestic horses that were used in logging, guiding and outfitting operations in the early 1900s, the province says.
In September, the province announced a new management framework for the six management zones.
According to the 44-page framework document, various strategies will guide actions towards achieving the vision and objectives of the management framework, including:
• Utilize ecosystem-based indicators and thresholds to ensure a sustainable multi-use landscape.
• Integrate science with Indigenous knowledge and practices pertaining to feral horse management in the Eastern Slopes.
• Ensure monitoring and reporting of feral horse population.
• Utilize adaptive management to ensure feral horse populations align with landscape capacity.
HAWS disputes the government’s recent count of the feral horses in the Sundre zone and plans to conduct its own aerial survey early in 2024.
“We are going to do a parallel survey count,” Grover said. “We are going to be very, very precise in our counting this year. We just have to know where we are at.
“We are going to fly a very, very precise grid on the same path that the government is going to fly and they have told us which flight path that will be.”
The new management framework includes a pilot project with WHOAS where capture permits may be issued to place distressed or nuisance feral horses into adoption programs.
Contacted by the Albertan, a Minister of Forestry and Parks spokesperson provided the following statement: “There will be no immediate action taken with regard to managing feral horse populations this winter. Forestry and Parks will be working with the Feral Horse Advisory Committee to implement a management strategy that aligns with the framework.”
