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Wild Horses West of Sundre

Alberta RCMP have laid charges in one of a series of wild horse killings near Sundre.

Jason Nixon, 29, Earl Anderson, 40 and a 13 year old boy have been charged so far with at least one more charge pending. They will appear in court March 1st in Didsbury, AB.

Mustard Seed, a well known Calgary social agency, has confirmed in a statement that the two men are associated with its Mountain Aire Lodge near Sundre.

There has been an ongoing investigation for the past 3 years into the case. Hopefully more charges will be laid soon in the other horse killings.

“This has been ongoing for a long, long time,” said spokesman for WHOAS,  Bob Henderson.

“Since our group has been formed, there has been over 30 killings or around 30 killings that we know about, and it’s also gone on long before that. So whether they’ve caught everybody, I don’t think so, but at least there’s some progress being made,” he said.

Nixon has also been charged with assault, uttering threats, and obstructing a Fish and Wildlife officer who was investigating the incident.

More info on the following sites:

http://www.660news.com/news/local/article/19034–charges-laid-in-shooting-of-a-wild-horse

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100120/CGY_Horse_Charges_100120/20100120/?hub=CalgaryHome

http://www.inews880.com/Channels/Reg/LocalNews/story.aspx?ID=1187107

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2010/01/20/calgary-alberta-wild-horse-shooting-arrest.html

You can also visit the WHOAS website for more information about the wild horses. http://www.northernhorse.com/wildhorses/

2010 Wild Horse Calendar Cover

DO NOT ENTER THIS DRAW. IT IS ALL OVER.

Check on the front of Northernhorse.com or check under the Categories on this blog for Free Draw to find the current one.

We have a nice prize for our free draw. A 2010 Wild Horses of Alberta Society Calendar. Not only do you get to enjoy some of Bob Hendersen’s wonderful photography, they have included lots of information about the herds and the individuals. It is just a treat to turn to the new month.

We always have a question for you to answer to enter the draw. You can enter by clicking on the Comment link below and putting in your answer. The question?

Have you ever seen a wild horse in the wild?

This draw will end the end of the year. Appropriate for a calendar. Good luck everyone.

Would you like to get a calendar or two as gifts for somebody who might really enjoy some nice photos and information about Alberta’s wild horses? Maybe a T-Shirt with a wild horse on it? Just go to the WHOAS (Wild Horses of Alberta Society) http://www.northernhorse.com/wildhorses/. Lots of information there about the wildies. You can even buy a DVD of the documentary about the Wild Horses of Alberta. Lots of good ideas for Christmas gifts and you get to avoid the rush and crowds and help some wild horses.

http://www.northernhorse.com/wildhorses/

They have marched with us through history. Lumbered with us through the North’s uncharted territories. Danced in the stories of the Indians’ ancestors. Documented in the journals of our early explorers. Like the grizzly bear, moose, and wolf, they play a vital role in the wilderness around us. Canada’s wild horses are a monument of early Canadian living. They were a valued resource to our forces in the First World War. Their history has been intertwined with our own since the beginning … yet their future stands on uncertain ground.

In a journal dated in the 1850’s by Reverend John McDougal, he describes the wild horses, preyed upon by wolves, between the North Saskatchewan and Oldman Rivers. Northwest Mounted Police, bringing law and order to the far reaches of Canada, estimated that there were horses in the thousands, loose on the rolling foothills. Continue Reading »

There are a lot of people who would like to find the sick person who has been shooting the wild horses and leaving them wounded to die. Some folks have put a substantial amount of money up to help in the cause. $25,000.00. Nice reward.

One  private individual, the Alberta Equestrian Federation and the Innisfail Truck Ranch.  All three put up $5000 each. Pretty amazing and thanks to them all. Continue Reading »

On March 21, 2009 Bob and Doreen Henderson were presented with the 2008 Wild Life Protection Award from Oliever Bonnett, the Canadian Director of IFAW Canada.

When I read Doreens post on the WHOAS Blog, I thought how much it sounded so typical of Doreen.

It seemed a bit surreal to be recognized along with previous awards recipients given to icons such as Jane Goodal the Primatologist, Farley Mowat, Canadian Writer and Naturalist, and Bob Mills, Member of Parliment, Red Deer.  All are well known conservationists.  Bob and I didn’t feel that we were doing anything extraordinary.

Regardless of whether you think the wild horses are a part of the spirit of the west or you think they are simply feral animals, the unfailing committment of Bob & Doreen to see that they get some protection from abuse has been inspirational. From saving a foal from a rocky shoal to bringing it to our attention that they were being shot and treated inhumanely they have served the wildies in any way they could.

There are some interesting tales on the Wild Horse Website. One of my favorites is when Bob loaded an injured wildie yearling in the trailer with only the help of his saddle horse to bring it home and treat it.

In these times of so much negativity, it is so nice to report some news of somebody doing something nice.  Hats off to the Hendersons.

I am happy tonight for Bob & Doreen Henderson on their being awarded the Outstanding Personal Commitment Award for their incredible dedication, work and passion for the welfare of Alberta’s wild horses.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare conducted a nation wide search for individuals dedicated to doing amazing things for animals. Each year worthy individuals are selected to receive an Outstanding Commitment Award. The Hendersons have been rightly named a 2008 “Animal Action Hero of the Year“. Continue Reading »

Wild horses and burros could get more room to roam under a bill introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee on Thursday by Committee Chairman Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.

The Restoring Our American Mustangs Act (HR 1018), amends the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971 to allow the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to increase acreage available to free roaming herds, and to develop wild horse and burro sanctuaries on public lands.

Read more at The Horse.com

I see on the Wild Horse Blog there is a live internet radio program happening today about Wild horse & burro and Natural Horse Care. Some interesting speakers on natural hoof care, the history of the wild horses and what we can learn about the care of our horses from them.

Visit the Wild Horse Site

Link to Radio Show

I found this on the Wild Horses of Alberta Society website:

It was confirmed that the dead horse found was indeed shot. As a result, the  Alberta Sustainable Resources Department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are working together to try to solve it.  Don Livingston, land management planning officer with  the SRD in Rocky Mountain House said that the latest horse was shot West of Bearberry sometime between November 30th and December 6th.  The Hendersons’, along with a Journalist/Photographer discovered the gruesome find on December 7th.  They had been touring the area in search of wild horses to photograph for a magazine and came across the remains of a wild horse instead.

Authorities have found no connection at this time between this horse killing and the previous 20 equine shooting deaths.  All of which occured within a mile of eachother over the past five years.  Another four were discovered about ten miles away from this kill site in 2007.  This makes a total of 24 horses that we are aware of that have been gunned down in the area.

RCMP livestock investigator Cpl. Don Heaslip the lead investigator urges the pubic to contact them if they have any information about this or the previous horse killings.  They can contact Crime Stoppers or Report-A-Poacher at 1-800-642-3800.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife has also been in touch with WHOAS, Bob Henderson, in regards to the headless remains of a deer discovered the same day.  The buck had likely been poached for its prized antlers, just as elephants are poached for their ivory.  Fish and Wildlife is investigating this incident.

We are urging people to contact us as well if they have any information and may do so by emailing bob1603@telusplanet.net

More about this and other interesting articles on the Wild Horses of Alberta Society website

On Sunday December 07, 2008 another wild horse was found shot and left to the scavengers.  The remains of the wild horse were found in the same area west of Sundre, AB. (Parkers Ridge) where over the last four years over twenty other wild horses have been shot and killed.  Bob and Doreen Henderson were giving a tour of the area to a Journalist/Photographer Jenn Council and were attempting to find herds of horses to photograph.  While driving down the North James Trail, we spotted a large flock of ravens gathered around a small area.  Upon investigation we found the carcass of the wild horse.  Judging by the way the animal was laying and it’s location, indicated that the horse was killed while on the move. Continue Reading »