UPDATE: Contrary to initial reports, the RCMP has announced that they will not be involved in the capture of wild horses from the Ghost Equine Zone east of Banff National Park.
ORIGINAL POST FEB 5TH: The Alberta government has authorized the capture of up to 60 wild horses, during a capture season that ends March 1, 2015.
Duncan MacDonnell, spokesperson for the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, announced on Wednesday that the RCMP will manage the roundup, under the province’s Stray Animals Act. They will hire wranglers to capture horses in an area south of the Red Deer River and east of the boundary of Banff National Park.
The horses will be offered to the Wild Horses of Alberta Society (WHOAS) for adoption, who have reportedly stated they can take between six and 20 captured horses.
In November, the WHOAS signed a five-year agreement with the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) to implement a contraceptive program in the Sundre area of the Alberta foothills. A part of the deal, over the next five years, the ESRD will refrain from issuing capture permits for horses in the Sundre Equine Zone as WHOAS conducts its pilot program.
Learn more about this year’s capture at www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/wild-horse-capture-controlled-by-alberta-government-not-rcmp-1.2948486, calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/0205-horse-capture and www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/wild-horse-roundup-ordered-by-alberta-government-1.2945538
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