Wild horse capture controlled by Alberta government not RCMP
Alberta will oversee the capture of dozens of wild horses in the foothills northwest of Calgary
The RCMP says it will not be involved in the capture of about sixty feral horses in the Ghost Equine Zone east of Banff National Park.
Earlier this week, Alberta's Environment and Sustainable Resources said the police force would be in charge of contracting wranglers to round up the horses.
The department now says it will organize the capture, and will photograph and "freeze brand" them in case they get into the wild again.
The wranglers will be looking for younger animals because they are more likely to be adopted.
Controversy over capture
The Wild Horses Society of Alberta still gets the first opportunity to take any remaining captured horses that would go up for auction.
The province estimates that there are just under 900 of the animals in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and that is having a damaging effect on grasslands shared by livestock and wildlife.
There are opponents to the plan who say the horses should be considered part of Alberta's cowboy heritage.
The provincial government, however, says they are not a native breed but descendants of horses once used in the logging and mining industry more than 100 years ago.