LS908506.B10 LIZA
NEW LOCATION 1702 8TH ST & LOUISE
Volume 11, Issue 5, Week of February 10, 2014
Saskatoonʼs REAL Community Newspaper
Estimates vary on the number of wild horses roaming in the RM of Canwood (Photo by Tammy Robert)
Wild horses pose danger in RM Tammy Robert Saskatoon Express
rently plaguing the RM of Canwood and devouring his profits. The Debden-area farmer is on the verge of installing a pricey s the debate over the fate of wild electric fence around a quarter section of horses rages in Alberta, for some his land. Saskatchewan farmers the issue “It’s gotten really bad over the last three hits much closer to home. or four years,” said Boudreault, whose The landscape in the hay bales are particularly RM of Canwood, located “I’ve got half a dozen popular with the horses northeast of Prince Albert, in the field right now, during frigid winter is unforgiving. Frozen but I’ve had up to 40 months. winds howl over fields “I’ve got half a dozen dotted with scrubby clumps in there.” in the field right now, of dense brush. The snow -Luc Boudreault but I’ve had up to 40 in in the area is deep — waist there.” deep in parts. Boudreault’s attempts to mitigate the Moments after crossing the southern damage done by the powerful, starving border of the RM, a herd of wild horses horses with a regular fence have been unis spotted in a field about a kilometre off successful because of high snow drifts and the grid road. They are nosing fervently gates opening, or being opened by human through the icy drifts in search of food. interference. Down the road a second herd is spotted Wild horses in Saskatchewan, while huddled together on a frozen pond. At least romanticized by some, pose a tricky, often four mares are pregnant. dangerous situation for governments and LS908502.B10 Luc Boudreault has had more than residents. Loose legislation binds the Liza of the wild (or feral) horses curenough hands of law enforcement and animal-
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welfare organizations. Multiple collisions with feral horses have occurred in the RM within the last year. These have resulted in vehicle damage, personal injury and the deaths of the horses involved. While there has not been a Saskatchewan SPCA (SSPCA) investigation into feral horses in the RM, it’s not a new issue for them. “This is certainly not the first time I’ve heard of a situation like this,” said Kaley Pugh, manager of Animal Protection Services for the SSPCA. In fact, the SSPCA has looked into incidents with wild horses all over the province. Because feral horses are not classified as wildlife, they do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management (SERM) agency. Feral horses are not tattooed, and up-to-date veterinarian’s records are sparse to non-existent. Colin Hughes, reeve of the RM of Canwood, feels that his municipality has spent too much time and money dealing with roaming horses. He, along with
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numerous local residents interviewed for this story, allege the feral horses originate from the Big River First Nation, which borders the RM. “We’ve went up to Big River First Nation and told their council that it’s a problem,” said Hughes. “We offered to get rid of (the horses), but we were told they’d be looked after. Back in the 1980s, a local resident and the reeve at the time rounded up over 60 wild horses and took them away because people were going to get killed. We can do that again.” Derek Klein, Big River First Nation’s band administrator, said “some of those horses may be owned by band members. They get out or someone lets them out. “We try to round them up every spring and fall,” he said in an interview. “It is a feed issue, absolutely. You get lots of snow and the horses are digging and digging forever, looking for feed. We try and help the farmers out, but they can’t afford to feed them.” (Continued on page 4)
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