The recent slaughter of 17 wild horses in British Columbia’s Interior devastated members of the local community who regard them as an ancient and enchanting part of the landscape. However, the horses are thought of by others as pests, grazing machines that out-compete important species for food and territory.

Even ecologists disagree on whether wild horses deserve more protection.

Cpl. Lepine anticipates charging whoever is responsible for the killings under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, which carries a maximum punishment of $75,000 in fines and two years in jail.

The free-roaming horses are culturally significant to the Skeetchestn Indian Band, a community with deep roots in horsemanship that has held a rodeo for well over 100 years, according to former band councillor Terry Deneault.

In a statement released Wednesday, the band said that it was “saddened” by the “heinous crime” that occurred

“As our stories tell us, we are connected to all animals that walk, fly and swim, and it is our responsibility to ensure that all life is respected and cared for,” the statement said.

“While these horses did not live on Skeetchestn’s land and the crime occurred outside of our community, we are mourning the unnecessary loss of wildlife that we share this beautiful landscape with.”

Those comments pleased us greatly because as the title of the Globe and Mail article states, the local community is divided and that has been our personal experience when it comes to the wild horses of British Columbia.

We’ve experienced – NOT with this particular Band – some members of other First Nations Bands who when wild horses are being a nuisance the horses are wild, but at other times some of the horses are used for trail rides, then turned out to fend for themselves for the winters – including horses that are branded.

Perhaps even more disheartening, members of more than one band in B.C. routinely round up these wild horses and ship them directly to slaughter in Alberta for human consumption.  

We are NOT saying this is the norm.  

AND we also want to say that there are groups within many bands and WHOLE bands who are working hard to protect horses and who treat them with respect.

In B.C., as in the rest of Canada save for a handful of small reserves, free-roaming horses aren’t considered “wild” since the government doesn’t consider them to be native to the land. They are instead branded as “feral,” which disqualifies them from most wildlife protections.

Wayne McCrory, a biologist in B.C. who has studied free-roaming horses in Canada extensively, thinks new legislation is necessary.

“It’s time to ramp up protection, both federal and provincial, in my opinion, to stop this senseless slaughter when some trigger-happy person just decides to take the law into his own hands,” Mr. McCrory said.

Mr. McCrory is involved in research on Chilcotin horses’ DNA that could prove they’re descendants of horses that arrived in Canada in the 1700s. This could help establish that the horses are native to the land and therefore eligible for protection.