Human interference.
Welcome to our human interference study. All research done is our own observational research. Any outsourced facts will be linked on our sources page, for anyone who wants to see the studies regarding these topics for themselves or conduct their own further research you can look on the sourves page. If you have any facts, opinions, research or observations relating to human interference you would like to share, please email us below, we would be happy to look into the matter. Without further due, let's get into it.
What is the definition of human interference? What are we reference to when we say this? Human interference is an action performed by a human, resulting in negative impacts to wildlife or the land, or disrupts their natural way of things.
This is what we are going to look into in wild horse country, and if you would like further in depth studies please see our blog.
We have a lot to discuss regarding the topic of human interference with wild life as a whole, and wild horses as a specific population. We will try not to make this too lengthy, so please see our blog for a deeper lengthier look at these issues.
The topics that we think of when we thing of human interference relating to the wild horses in Alberta are the following, below you will find a short research study on each of these topics listed, and we will dive into each area of human interference
Culling
Capture licenses
Contraceptives
Adoption programs
Salt blocks
Traplines
Uninformed tourists.
Motives and biases
Whether intentionally, or unintentionally, these are all areas that need to be talked about in regards to human interference.
●Let's start with culling. There have been no “official” reports of culling since 2015…but that does not mean they do not occur, this just simply means the government has not issued or sanctioned a cull since this time. Allegedly, there have been unsanctioned culls done by individuals as recent as 2017-18. I will try to dig up there old articles and provide them on our sources page, for now we will just say this is an alleged report. Now what we do know is that the government continually uses other control methods such as Capture licenses. So lets have a look at this issue.
● Every year Capture licenses are issued to select groups/individuals approved by the forestry minister and government officials. This authority allows these groups /individuals to capture, auction, sell and adopt out these wild horses, in events they are “abandoned, injured, or have strayed onto privately owned land, or have become a “nuisance” to the area or society. They become targets, essentially, as subjects of these Capture licenses. We know at least 48 feral horses were captured as of 2024, for a pilot program rolling out Contraceptive methods to mares, with plans to contracept another 40 (approximately) . Were all 40 mares re-released? This will be our next topic to look at, for now, we know there are probably close to 100 removed every year for multiple reasons, through these Capture licenses.
We would like to see an end to all capture licenses. We can not captures and cull licenses for one group and not another, it needs to be totally removed from the wild horse management program. 0 capture licenses authorized and issued would be a part of our hands off 0 human interference approach.
●Now lets talk about Contraceptives in regards to human interference. Bear with us as we try to keep it short, but there is a lot to talk about here. Now this method is less invasive than the latter two. Studies suggest this (PZP) the contraceptive used in the 2015-19 study is effective for a total of 1 year, and needs a booster every following year. So what is the long term damage to these mares and their offspring after repeated boosters ? Studies suggest long term use affects wild horses ovaries and may induce long term if not permanent reproductive issues.
The second question we have would be, in this original pilot program project conductive for Contraceptives on wild horses, how many years did these horses recieve follow up checks? We know 87 wild horses (mares) recieved this PZP Contraceptive, 17 of those 87 recieved 2 doses, and 5 of those 87 recieved 3 doses. What were the long term effects on the 5 mares with 3 doses? The public study states out of the 17 mares a follow up was done on, only one had a foal the following breeding season. Making it an infertility rate of 90% (on those 17 mares) so what happened to the other 70 mares? And out of the 87 mares, did they have foals the second season following the PZP shot?
These are all relative to how we approach Contraceptives in wild horses. And we will dive into these studies a little further on our blog so head over there if you want to see more data and research on this matter, however what we want to look at is the long term impact this has on wild horses.
Regardless of the effectiveness of the contraceptive treatment, we want to see the long term impact this has on wild horses, did any of those 87 mares have unnatural injuries or death, did they become fertile again? We must research this before we start intervening or we risk damaging the wild horses and the ecosystem permanently.
Do these vaccines for contraception shed? Has any one studied how a newly contracepted mares fecal matter affects the ecosystem and land? These may seem like irrelevant questions but the answers have a huge affect on how we as a province can care for the land and wildlife in Alberta as a whole.
We have heard alleged stories of 1 horse passing away, however no documented proof of this can be found, it is alleged. However it would not have to be alleged if the full 87 mares were studied for the following 5 years or more to get a long term assessment. No public documents can be found relating to this or what 87 mares they were. Surely a picture must have been taken as documentation for each wild horse. So where are the documents?
●Adoptions: lets look at what affects Adoption has on interfering with wild horses. When a wild horse is captured, its then trained or broke (depending on the method used) the end goal a calm and quiet, almost domestic horse. This is achieved on young colts through gelding and removing their wolf teeth. The main questions we want to raise with adoption is the capture process, and the adoption process. With capturing, this comes in three forms, a removal off of private land, a government authorized cull, or individually authorized capture licenses. Capture licenses are the most common method used today. We want to talk about transparency in adoptions, and why we feel as though there is no place for adoption with wild horses. Adoptions are a form of incentive. Incentive to take, incentive to have, incentive to donate, it leads to a bias. Any adoption leads to the moral question as to why? Now we understand some are allegedly “rescues”. So.. Who authorizes these rescues? Who calls in these wild horses who are seemingly in need of rescue? What facts continually pop up in the event of finding wild horses in need of this alleged “rescue”? This is not a one person or one group problem, this is a chain of problems from the allowance of adopting out wild horses. Let's fine the facts on this together in our blog deep dive if you'd like to look further into this matter with us.
Salt blocks: Now we have the issue of salt block human interference to also address here. To be fair we should consider this feeding wildlife as a whole. However one area we see this, is salt blocks so that will be our main discussion here. Let us first ask a basic question. Does giving a wild horse a salt block fall under the definition of “feeding wildlife”? Simply, Yes. So what are the implications and domino effects associated with feeding wild horses ? Lets have a look.
First we will look at the laws and facts surrounding this matter, then we will look into the psychological effects this has on wild horses.
If you have ever been to banff you have seen the countless caution signs saying do not feed widlife. It’s a prominent feature in all of Albertas provincial and national parks. What you may not know is that Alberta has strict laws, policies and regulations regarding the feeding of wild animals. Feeding wildlife is prohibited in the Majority of Alberta. (With the exception to backyard bird feeders). All forms of wildlife feeding can result in finds up to $100,00 or up to 2 years in jail. This is concidered a serious offense due to the fact that it disrupts and manipulates the natural behavior of the Albertan wildlife. Sundre and its county also made new bylaws in 2024 prohibiting the feeding of ALL wildlife (except birds). It is also against the law in Alberta to feed wildlife on crown land, or on public land use zones. It is also prohibited to use any means of food, or water to attracting a wild animal in Alberta. Now if you do not want to concider these wild horses as such “wildlife” and would rather say “feral” then the same laws apply. These laws mean feeding or attracting in feral animals in Alberta is strictly prohibited and illegal as well. So why do we see so many salt blocks in wild horse country and hear of so many, intentionally placing these salt blocks to attract and lure in wild horses, regardless for the research, this is prohibited.
Now lets look at why these laws are in place, and what the chain affect, and outcome is when wildlife, and wild horses are fed by humans
A main issue when looking at salt blocks and the feeding of wild horses is the habituation to humans this causes for wild horses. They begin to associate humans with this treat and source of food. Which makes them leave behind their sense of fear for humans. Fear is necessary for all wild animals to be safe. A healthy fear of humans prevents unusually, unwanted and unordinary human wildlife interactions.
Wild horses differ greatly from their domestic counter part. Their digestive systems, food needs, all the way up to their DNA differs from that of the domestic horse. These wild horses have spend (minimum) 400 years in the wild, seeking, finding and recieving their daily salt and mineral needs from river banks and rocky mountain ledges. This is ingrained into their behaviours and digestive tract. Salt blocks were not made for wild horses not are the beneficial in any sense to the wild horse. In fact unnatural human made salt blocks, fed to them by humans, does the exact opposite. It can cause internal (unnoticeableto the naked eye) injuries such as colic, which in many cases can be fatal. Salt blocks entices these wild horses to linger near to these salt blocks, and it makes them crave these salt blocks, and seek them out.
So lets get to the root of the issue that salt blocks pose
They can cause colic or other digestive related issues
They create unnatural human-wildlife interactions/ conflicts
Leads to loss of fear for humans
Loss of flight instincts
Determination and emotion to land surrounding salt blocks
Salt seepage into the ground, causing damage to the ecosystem, grass and soil structures.
its illegal
feeding wildlife can result in hefty fines and in some cases even jail time
Wild horses are more easily captured if they are habituated to humans through food sources
●Traplines: we have seen our fair share of trap lines in the Alberta wilderness so what affects, if any, do they pose on wild horses. And are there signs of interference and impact? Lets take a look.
Studies show there are between 100-400 registered traplines along the eastern slopes, and 1632 active traplines across the province as a whole as of 2025. We have heard many stories about some of the traplines, alleged offenses at best, without any factual proof. So we will keep this segment short and direct, regarding the one case we have eye witnessed. For this to make sense, keep in mind, every “herd” ““band” recieves a number, and every individual horse recieves a file number. Band numbers and file numbers. This is about a wild horse in band 75, and her file is #444 we call this mare Saveah.
This mare was found by us on June 25th 2025. This mare had a young foal by her side too. She went through what I cam only describe as a horrendous life or death battle. A man made battle. What i can only imagine and assume was a long hard battle to break free or this metal wire snare. We do not know how this wild horse ended uo in a snare. Or how she managed to fray a twisted strand wire. What we do know is this battle was long enough for this wire to be embedded in the top of mare #444 Saveahs neck.
Many people would argue here the need for human intervention amd euthenzia, however we believe this mare is a living testimony of the battle these wild horses face in silence. How long was she stuck on a trapline? Did the trapper know? Surely he knew when he seen his frayed trap after the fact? Now lets talk about her injury. although it looks severe, and surely is, this mare still has a high likelihood of survival. 1st she frayed the snare in a way that it automatically released all tension and pressure. It most likely would have fallen off completely if it wasn't for being embedded in her soft tissue. Our hopes here is that with some time this mare will rub on a tree or roll near some sticks or rocks in a way that pulls this wire off for once and for all. Then the would will heal over, regardless the mare is alive and free to live another day.
We get that elk and horses are about the same height, so we understand how in some cases trappers may have high hanging snares, which leads to many questions on if in our 12 months of research we have come across this once already.. how often does this happen? And surely the majority that are snared dont have the luck and fate that saveah had to break free. Another area documenting human interference that affects these wild horses.
●Tourists : let's look at the impact and affects that tourists may pose on the wild horses of Alberta, and all wildlife. In recent years the wild horses of Alberta have become a must see tourist attraction to many. Just as thousands gather around Banff and Jasper to see the mountain sheep and goats, the same is true about the sundre equine zone and a few smaller areas in other PLUZs (public land use zones). The small gravel mountain roads become dust filled and slim visibility through June through August (peak tourist seasons) this is the time of year when the tourist interference is noticeable and undeniable.
These beautiful mountain ranges go from still, silent, and peaceful to quickly and abruptly overcrowded, over run and over noised. Although the government and certain individuals who allegedly profit off of these tourists, make a subtle point that the tourist revenue that these wild horse generate for them, in profit and taxes, allegedly makes them worth keeping around, at least in the Sundre “ tourist zone”. So lets talk about the impact we see during peak tourist season. When visiting the alberta mountains tourists are quick to outsource guides as a means to not get lost, and find the hidden gem areas, thats what guides are paid to do. Typically with a guide rules and regulations would be set before the tour begins.
Now in most national parks this consists of warning guests and visitors to keep their distance from all wildlife, to not feed the wildlife, and to not approach wildlife. Where the wild horse country in our opinion, differs is this lack of rules, lack of boundaries. With many pushing the bring of how close can we get for a photo, or can we be a horse whisperer and get a photo petting a wild horse. These are common occurrences in the wild horse tourist industry.
Then you add to this the tourist who go on their own, with no knowledge of the land, the wildlife or the standards albertans hold in regards to not feeding, touching or harassing wildlife, we have seen young adults approaching wild horses seemingly unaware of the dangerous situation they put themselves and the wild horses in.
Situations like these, not only put tourists in danger but the wild horses as well, who are not to be touched , harassed or approached, or fed, have their rights as wildlife breached.
And finally the last issue we will address until further updates are needed;
Motives, biases, incentives and gains: the final topic to address today will be the motives incentives and biases that play a role in human interference or intervention with the wild horses of Alberta.
Let us start with motives. Motives implies something motives that individual for that particular cause, its a reason, its a meaning. And motives help us decide what is a fact and what is an opinion or answer motivated by another cause. We learn a lot from a motive. If we are motivated to keep wild horses wild, our goals, and our mission should reflect that, in all means wild. We can not have alterior motives when it comes to the wild horses and every aspect must be transparent. Now what could possible motives be in regards to wild horses, any any sense, good or bad, a motive is a motive.
Let's look at motives that could potentially affect the Alberta Wild Horsss
#1 funding- funding is a major player in motives, if funding is offered for a certain outcomes, many would accept that said funding and aim to achieve the requested or desired outcome, in other terms, financial motives. This can come in forms of grants, donations, shares in an organization, government funding.
motives can also occur in forms of emotions, if someone has a passion for one thing, their motives will be noticably directed around and centered around that one thing.
If someone's focused on capturing wild horses and recieving capture licenses their motive, in our opinion, would most likely be driven in some form, by what they are capturing. Which leads to a bigger questions here. Is the motive to help and save or take and sell. This can happen in any area.
Any area where there is profit or money to be made, can be areas where there may potentially be a motive driven by financial incentives. When it comes to advocacy and wildlife conservation, this area of interference must be taken seriously. Every aspect must be transparent, must be documented, and must be unbiased. There is no profit to be made on lies or a financially altered outcome. This form of financial motives must also be looked wearily upon in the sense of adopting out wild animals, and if there are financial incentives for removing wild animals for profit, sale, or a high dollar donation.
Now motives can also come in other forms. Incentives and motives without direct or initial financial gains, lets take a look at:
Farmers, ranchers, and trappers: now, for one we will start off by saying our family on my side and my husbands side, grew up around farms, ranches, cattle and horses. A prevalent piece in our lives, and the reason for our equine welfare and psychology background. So this is not a dig at any farmer or rancher, simply a look at where personal biases or incentives may be.
If a farmer or rancher is leasing crown land, for their livestock, they will be given a lease, it's also important to note, livestock leases on PLUZs differ slightly than typical crown land leases. Areas are divided and sectioned off with cattle guards and farmers use the lease land, typically as late as the end of September and October. If their cattle run out of grass, or they feel they cannot increase their herd, they may look for someone, or rather something to blame. And if wild horses are visable, they will most likely be to blame for the lack of grass, the less wild horses on crown land, means the more cattle farmers can lease there. Now this is not the case for all farmers who lease crown land in wild horse country, but it is an area to look into to ensure no motives are directing or altering the fate of the wild horses.
Another motive or incentive we must look at is the fact that wild horses are often deemed “free bait” for traps and bait stations. This is not always the case but there have been many rumors and alleged reports of this happening. We hope this was not the intent with mare #444 , we hope she was not intentionally snared, but it is something that should be looked into.
And finally, lets look at personal biases, and how they may interfere with the wild horses, or the wild horses treatment and management. A bias can be good or bad. But we believe all biases should be transparent and disclosed. If one persons personal bias is that they don't care at all about wild horses, then their opinion and solution regarding the wild horses will also reflect that they don't care. If a personal bias is to fight everyone who has an opposing opinion, then no solution will be found. If a personal bias believes wild horses are feral, then their opinion and solution will reflect their feral horse belief, and if a personal bias is to have a hands off approach, the opinion and solutions should also reflect that hands off approach. Personal biases can lead to deception and misleading solutions if their biases are not fully disclosed.
Here's a quick question before we end our discussion on this topic. Does anyone in the wild horse country, who has a persuasive say regarding the outcome of wild horses, have any personal biases that might alter their opinions and decision making abilities? We, in our opinion. Believe so.
Let's end off with a bit of critical thinking shall we?
We will list a few questions for you to think on and you can find your own answer, and come to your own conclusions on your own time, there is no right or wrong answer here.
When you ask a question to anyone in the wild horse country, do you recieve an honest and transparent answer?
If you have donated in any means to a wild horse cause, have you asked what your donations have funded and have you recieved an answer?
Who decides the fate of the wild horses in Alberta? Do they have any motives or incentives you think may alter their decision making?
Who (if anyone) can you think of who has profited off of the capture, taking, removal or adoption of wild horses, do you believe this constitutes as a motive or incentive?
Do you believe wild horse conservation (saving wild horses) and capture licenses/culls can co- exist hand in hand?
In your opinion, are there any motives that could or would incentives someone to alter wild horse numbers ?
If culls have been nonexistent since 2015, why are wild horse numbers dropping by the dozens - hundreds? Can you think of any reasonable explanation?
If you have any revelations or break through thoughts regarding any one of these topics, or maybe, perhaps you have an interesting thought you wish to share, or want us to explore further, please email us below, if its wild horse related we will look into it and get the most transparent and accurate data and research for you that we can.
and finally this research project is solely our own opinions, our own research, our own thoughts, our own questions and our own answers, if a fact is shared it will be provided in our sources page where all new sources are updated, and if a rumor is shared we will tell you it is “alleged” we want nothing but transparent reporting here. If you have a questions please email us and we will get back to you with an answer timely.
We recieve no grants, no government funding, no sponsors and there are no shareholders here to persuade our opinion or actions. We have no affiltion with any other group, and have no role or position that could, or would persuade our mission. Neither do we have any affiltion with the wild horse advisory committee, or crown land livestock leases, that could alter our aim for transparency. Our sole mission is to bring transparency and research to light and reveal what's hidden or intentionally not discussed in wild horse country. We love the wild horses, but we do not believe we can protect them with a foundation based on lies or discrepancies.
We believe whole heartedly in order to be able to protect and save these wild horses, the reporting must be thorough, accurate, unbiased, and transparent.
Disclaimer* We are not professional researchers and we are not scientists.
we are just a small family reporting and researching wild horses because we have a love and passion for wild horses and transparency.
There are enough conservationists and advocates who “fight for what they believe in”… we are here to advocate and fight for what is true and transparent first, and hope to find a way to save the wild horses once that foundation is built on facts evidence and transparency, we ask for everyone to use their own critically thinking minds to decide what makes sense, and what is true.
Thank you for reading our run through/brief overview of our wild horse and human interference/intervention research project. If you want to dive deeper into any one of these topics please check out our blog where we take the time to dove deep into topic addressed here in its own research page.
Donations are not asked of you, or required of you, but if you support our work and desire for transparency, as a small family every donation helps and matters. Our family does this research simply out of a desire and passion for truth and transparency in wild horse country, every donation is greatly appreciated
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Thanks and we hope to see you in our next research study- stay tuned for more-
Wild Horse Advocates