Wild Horse Herd Killing in Alberta: Please send sample letters

Prince Roy

Source: Details from Canadian Horse Defence Coalition

Alberta Government Decimates Wild Horse Herds

http://canadianhorsedefencecoalition.wordpress.com/

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Canadian Horse Defence Coalition.

In a ruthless ploy to protect grasslands from wild horse herds that have roamed Alberta for centuries, the province s Sustainable Resource Department (SRD) has put a large dent in the population of horses living in the Sundre/Olds area of Alberta. According to Bob Henderson of WHOAS (The Wild Horses of Alberta Society: http://northernhorse.com/wildhorses/), Over 130 horses that we know about were taken. Evidently the government is so anxious to rid the province of these majestic wild horses that even its customary capture application and license process has been waived this year. The horses have been rounded up and many have gone to slaughter.

Why would the SRD think to rob wild horses of their land and their lives? The usual answer in similar situations has been greed, and once again, the burgeoning needs and wants of ranchers seem to have been given the upper hand. Even with miles and miles of grassland rolling on farther than the eye can see, the wild Alberta horses, whose birthright would surely include the capacity to remain on those lands, have become the target of greed and corruption amongst ranchers and short-sighted government officials who are paranoid that the horses will somehow impact upon the livestock industry.

Only small herds of these iconic, breathtakingly beautiful horses now remain. If the ranchers and the government have their way, the wild horse herds of Alberta will become extinct. It is believed that these horses could be descendents of Spanish Mustangs, introduced from Spain during the early conquest of the Americas, but that doesn t seem to matter to those whose world revolves around profits.

The Alberta government needs to hear from citizens everywhere who are opposed to the mindless roundups and killing of these horses. Please consider contacting the following officials with your concerns:

Hon. Frank Oberle Minister of Sustainable Resource Development Legislature Office 420 Legislature Building 10800 97 Avenue NW Edmonton, AB Canada T5K 2B6 Phone: (780) 415-4815 Fax: (780) 415-4818 E-mail: SRD.minister@gov.ab.ca

Premier Alison Redford 307- Legislature Bldg 10800-97 Ave Edmonton, AB T5K 2B1 Ph.: (780)-427-2251 E-mail contact form: http://alberta.ca/premier_contact.cfm


Excuses from the Albert Government via form letter

From: SRD Minister (SRD.Minister@gov.ab.ca) Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:13:13 +0000 Subject: RE: Alberta’s wild horses

Thank you for your email of March 15, 2012 regarding free roaming horses in Alberta. I am pleased to provide the following information.

Horses indigenous to North America became extinct several thousand years ago. Although some people refer to free-roaming horses on today’s landscape as “wild,” these animals are descendants of domestic horses that have escaped captivity or have been turned loose and allowed to run freely. As soon as horses escape captivity – whether from early European explorers or by stock ranchers – they are defined as an introduced or exotic species.

The Government of Alberta considers free-roaming horses to be feral and protects them through the Stray Animals Act and its associated Horse Capture Regulation. Under this legislation, Sustainable Resource Development designates areas of Crown land where licences may be obtained to capture feral horses.

People who apply for horse capture licences are screened to ensure they use safe and humane methods of capture, have a satisfactory level of experience in capturing horses and have adequate facilities to care for captured horses. Sustainable Resource Development staff monitor horse-capture operations to ensure horses are treated humanely and if any branded horses are captured, the department notifies Alberta’s Livestock Identification Services. On average, 30 horses have been captured in each of the past few years.

Alberta’s increasing feral horse populations are resulting in a number of impacts on resources. In 2010, more than 1,000 feral horses were identified in the south of Alberta’s Eastern Slopes – up significantly from the 650 in 2009. This growing number of horses compete with native wildlife for habitat and can damage rangeland and reduce the forage available for livestock. They can also impede forest regeneration by damaging young trees. Feral horses pose a public safety risk on Alberta’s highways, which was especially apparent last winter when heavy snow conditions drove the animals east toward public roadways.

Be assured it is our government’s intent to help ensure the survival of these animals while balancing their impact on the environment.

Thank you for the opportunity to share this information about feral horses.

Sincerely, Frank Oberle Minister


WHOM TO CONTACT | COPY/PASTE INTO YOUR TO:

SRD.minister@gov.ab.ca , carol.chawrun@gov.ab.ca , dave.ealey@gov.ab.ca


SAMPLE LETTERS (CHOOSE ONE OR FEEL FREE TO SEND MORE)


Sample Letter One

To The Ministry of Sustainable Resource Department:

It is disgraceful that the Alberta government has succumbed to rancher greed and is killing off wild horses. Such an attitude shows not only lack of foresight, but also reflects the untrustworthiness of a government towards the population it is supposed to serve.

Thank you for taking the time to read this brief, yet urgent, message.


Sample Letter Two

Dear Minister Oberle:

It has come to my attention that the Government of Alberta has been complicit in conducting roundups of wild horses roaming in the Sundre/Olds area. I also understand that their demise (a trip to the slaughterhouse) is defended on the grounds that they are descendents of domestic horses who have escaped captivity or have been turned loose, and that these horses are considered by the government to be “feral” rather than “wild”.

Mention has even been made of increasing horse populations impacting on resources. Please clarify what studies have been conducted on the populations of free-roaming horses, as it is my understanding from local residents that the herds have diminished substantially, yet the government claims that there are over 1000 horses populating the area.

I would like to inquire whether the government has given any thought to the fact that many of these strikingly-beautiful horses may be descendents of Spanish Mustangs, introduced to the Americas centuries ago. To totally eradicate them would be a travesty. It is interesting that preliminary DNA testing on some wild horses from the area indicates that they may have evolved into their own distinct breed. In truth, no matter what their roots, these horses are no longer “domestic” and they do not deserve to be caught and transported to slaughter where their end to life is anything but “humane euthanasia”. Equine slaughter in itself is brutal, as exposed by undercover investigations in Canada as recently as 2011.

I am also aware of the fact that the Government of Alberta is so anxious to get rid of these animals that license applications are being waived and consequently anyone can capture the horses.

With regard to “resources”, perhaps the most important resource to the government is the huge expanse of grassland that these horses call home. Since the livestock industry (ranching) is closely aligned with government, I would like to suggest that perhaps SRD is pandering to greedy ranchers who cannot share the land with wild horses, animals whose birthright should include access to the land and the right to roam freely there. They do not “compete” with wildlife for a place to stay – they, like all wild animals, belong there. I call upon the government of Alberta to put a stop to these roundups immediately and institute a protective program for the horses that would include allowing them to live with their herds – as they have for centuries.

Yours truly,


Sample Letter Three

To The Ministry of Sustainable Resource Department:

Please don’t kill the horses! They belong on the land. People have already taken much of their habitat. Destroying the wilderness for profit will only leave less for future generations.

Thank you for taking the time to read this brief, yet urgent, message.


Sample Letter Four

Dear Minister Oberle:

I find it appalling that you can sanction the mindless rounding up and killing of these beautiful creatures – all in the name of greed. Preliminary DNA testing on some wild horses from the area show that these horses may be considered their own breed. Thus any argument that they originated from domestic horses and thus can be considered domestic is unfounded. These horses have a birthright to roam freely in their home. They do not deserve to be rounded up and slaughtered! The fact that you have waived licence applications in your anxiety to be rid of these horses is simply dictatorial – you bypass your own rules – rules that are in place to monitor and have some controls on the potential for abuse of vulnerable beings.

I will spread the word of your untrustworthiness and betrayal of these innocent animals.

Yours truly,

Canadian authorities
You know this is true
Wild horses are
Canadian citizens, too
And deserve the same
Rights as you !

Karen Lyons Kalmenson