Five Activists Arrested for Allegedly Blocking Roundup of Wild Horses

According to the Calgary Herald, five activists documenting the roundup of wild horses in western Canada were arrested and charged with mischief for allegedly interfering with the operation. The activists, two of whom are elderly, are accused of preventing the horses from entering the capture pen. But they deny the accusation: “Nobody was tampering with the site. But they told us that us being in that vicinity would prevent horses from going into his trap.” Canada has issued licenses to capture 200 of the approximately 1,000 wild horses for personal use or slaughter. The government says it wants to “reduce the population to reduce their impact on the food supply for other animals.”

Wild horse roundup in Canada

When wild animals inhabit land that we want for ourselves, we often label them as pests, round them up and exterminate them. Even animals who are endangered are at risk. In Southeast Asia, for example, orangutans are being killed as their rain forests are “slashed and burned” to clear the land for palm oil plantations. To find out how you can help protect wildlife, please visit Defenders of Wildlife.