By Bill Kaufmann as published in the Calgary Sun
“These horses have been so marginalized.”
Wild horses looking fat and furry along the Red Deer River west of Sundre, Alberta, on January 11, 2012. MIKE DREW/CALGARY SUN/QMI AGENCY
RCMP say a wild horse found dead west of Sundre appears to have been shot — the first one since 2009 to have possibly died that way.
Wayne Chicoine of Red Deer said he was stalking the wild horses with his camera last Friday when he came upon the dead bay mare off a lease road just north of Hwy. 584.
“There was a fresh blood trail of about 50 yards and fresh tracks — it looked like it happened a day before,” said Chicoine, adding he’s found several dead wild horses in the area over the past decade.
“I don’t think it’s right.”
Mounties are treating the horse’s demise as suspicious and are awaiting a necropsy to determine the cause of death.
There doesn’t appear to be any link between previous horse shootings and this one, said Cpl. Ryan Hodge of Sundre RCMP.
“There’s no suggestion of that in the least — the last confirmed horse shooting was in 2009,” he said.
A roundup of wild horses in the area has recently wound down after trapping about a dozen of only 200 animals the province had planned to capture to minimize the animals’ environmental impact.
While she’s happy to see the end of this year’s roundup, animal radvocate Anita Virginillo said all measurs must be taken to punish the culprit in the latest horse slaying.
“It’s horrible — I hope they find who’s responsible and use the full extent of the law,” said Virginillo of the Lethbridge Animal Rights Effort .
“These horses have been so marginalized.”
Click (HERE) to comment directly at the Calgary Sun
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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Sickening!
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There has to be an end to the animal hating killings. There has to be.
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It’s the same element found in our own wild horse killings.do they ever find the perpetrator? No! If they do,.laws Saar do lax that nothing I is done! I mankind a his own worst enemy…
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It’s bad enough thatwe have to fight the gov’t to save our wild Alberta horses but then we have the cretins that do itall o their own. Vey sad, very disturbing.
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Murder is Murder !!! iT HAS GOT TO STOP !!!!!
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Mounties find this death suspicious…..no, really?
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My thoughts exactly Michelle!
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I hope they find the murderer.
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Not Murdering a horse isnt bad enough in itself, these people or persons are sick in the mind , and wouldnt think twice of doing this to another person , this is practice for a sick derange mind !!!!!
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Who did this does not like them or is using them as target practice. I hope they
catch them.
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What a sad way to go. Very unhappy. 😥
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That Horse didn’t die immediately. It’s no telling how long she suffered first. Reasoning and compassionate people don’t kill living creatures just for sport, just for target practice or just because they’re there.
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Poachers and Illegal Loggers Beware: Now Whistleblowers Can Bring You Down
http://www.care2.com/causes/poachers-and-illegal-loggers-beware-now-whistleblowers-can-bring-you-down.html
Poaching and other wildlife crimes represent the single greatest threat to at-risk species, including tigers, lions, elephants, rhinos, apes and many more. Illegal logging of precious forested areas destroys habitat and ruins ecosystems. These crimes often go unreported because poachers and illegal loggers are a danger to the people who know what they’re up to.
A new website, which launched on Feb. 7, hopes to solve that problem. WildLeaks lets anyone who knows about wildlife or forestry crimes report online what’s going on, anonymously if necessary.
“WildLeaks is a venue for those with pertinent information to share their knowledge while remaining anonymous and without going directly to law enforcement officials,” project leader Andrea Crosta told National Geographic. “We’re hoping to receive information that can help us launch or continue an investigation.”
WildLeaks is the joint project of a coalition of groups led by the Elephant Action League. Joining EAL are the U.K.’s Environmental Investigation Agency, the Netherlands-based EcoJust, South Africa’s Oxpeckers Center, 100Reporters, GlobalEye, and a number of other groups.
“Public tip-offs to enforcement is the key to shutting down wildlife crime,” Kevin Bewick, head of the Anti-Poaching Intelligence Group of Southern Africa, told National Geographic.
Going After the Major Players in Illegal Wildlife and Forestry Crime
Worldwide, wildlife crime is considered the fourth largest transnational crime. It’s a $17 billion industry, following closely on the heels of narcotics, counterfeiting and human trafficking. That’s why WildLeaks is not looking to bust small-time poachers and loggers. Rather, its aim is to stop the big fish — traffickers, traders, dealers, shipping companies, corrupt businesspeople and government officials, and major criminal operations.
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VIDEO
http://globalnews.ca/news/1163358/wild-horse-capture-continues-in-alberta-as-do-protests/
Wild horse capture continues in Alberta, as do protests
Shannon Mann is putting in an around-the-clock effort as she fights to end the capture.
She has been camping in the snow near one of the traps outside of Calgary for five days, in an effort to deter the man legally allowed to capture the feral horses.
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VIDEO
http://globalnews.ca/news/1172487/5-arrested-in-connection-with-albertas-horse-cull/
UPDATE: Horse capture protestors released after arrest
CALGARY – Five protestors arrested in connection to Alberta’s controversial horse capture have been released.
They were taken into custody on Tuesday at a site near Sundre where protesters have gathered in an attempt to stop the capture of feral horses.
Retired rancher Darrell Glover says he travelled to the area to help some friends pack up their camp site.
“We chatted with the RCMP at the time and asked how close we were allowed to get to the site,” says Glover. “We didn’t get a satisfactory answer as to how close we could get.”
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Just a thought… if the gov’t. insists these horses are not wildlife but livestock, isn’t there some penalty for killing and wasting livestock? If not considered livestock but gov’t. owned wildlife, then at least in the states there are rules and penalties for “wanton waste.” Since Canadians evidently support horse slaughter for food, there is at least a shred of argument for wasting meat here, and legal consequences.
The “limbo” status of wild horses needs to be resolved in both our countries. Here, we have the HSUS mostly keeping out of the captive wild horse situation since they are not privately owned livestock. They also can do nothing when they are in the wild, since they are managed by the Gov’t. The horses always lose because they are legally not quite wildlife, nor private property. This third world for them has fatal consequences, as we see yet again in this article.
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Gender? Location? Presence or lack of similar observable traits like size, color, coat length, coat fineness? size? coat color patterns?
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Such a lack of respect for our wild life period. Who ever has done this must be held accountable. I am so sick of hearing about hate killings. Our animals are suffering at an alarming rate. HSUS is staying out of the wild horse mess. I wish they were more involved and more caring towards our wild horses, sad but true. Horses must be treasured and loved. They have a right to freedom and life not death by a bullet. What a shame this keeps on happening.
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You are so right Judith , The BLM needs to get a Damn Clue and so does HSUS”””””””’ We are the ONLY ones that Can Help them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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