Alberta’s wild horses are once again in the province’s spotlight, and once again it’s causing concern.

“What’s the problem? Why do horses make so much noise under the saddle?” said Darrell Glover, who has led the Help Alberta Wildies Society (HAWS) since 2014.

A decade ago, the province had 880 wild horses.

In 2024, it says there are 1,478.

At that time, a sacrifice was stopped after stiff opposition.

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

Alberta’s wild horses are once again in the province’s spotlight and once again this is causing concern. (Image courtesy of Darrell Glover)

“There are no sacrifices taking place,” said Minister of Forests and Parks Todd Loewen.

This time, the province says no horses will be sacrificed; Instead, some will be given contraceptive methods 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 their disappearance.

“By removing their bloodlines, it’s essentially a sacrifice anyway,” Glover said.

The province says wild horses are destroying the land.

“Wild horses are a factor, as are other things,” Loewen said.

Wild horse researchers disagree.

“It has no scientific basis,” said Glover, who has been keeping records on the population and its environmental impacts for 10 years.

Alberta’s wild horses are once again in the province’s spotlight and once again this is causing concern. (Image courtesy of Darrell Glover)

“(Wild horses) are part of the ecosystem and 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.

He found that most of the damage was caused by things like clear-cutting, oil and gas development, off-road vehicles, and livestock.

“(The province) should focus on restructuring health from cumulative effects, not just scapegoating wild horses,” McCrory said.

Alberta’s wild horses are once again in the province’s spotlight and once again this is causing concern. (Image courtesy of Darrell Glover)

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

“Every member of the committee knew exactly how the numbers were going to be obtained,” 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 declining in population, and Alberta should pass legislation to protect its wild horses.

“Once they’re gone, there’s no replacing this unique species,” Glover said.

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

Committee members suspect this could happen this winter.