It’s hard to miss the horses on the way to the mountains.
They’ve established free-roaming populations throughout the foothills and grasslands of Alberta’s eastern slopes, with herds of wild horses almost guaranteed to be seen off Highway 1 west of Calgary year-round.
But the abundance of what the Alberta government calls “feral horses” has reached “unacceptable” levels, according to the province’s horse management strategy.
As with other wild populations, the animals’ health, ecological sustainability and whether they are reservoirs of infectious disease would be the paramount concern.
Not sure that the current provincial government has the credibility in evidence-based decision making to be able to sustain any interventions.