A Fort MacMurray fundraiser is being held in order to help wild horses in Canada, who have seen a declining population over the years. The event was hosted by the Alberta Wild Horse Heritage Society and it was held at Blackstone Pub. According to the society chairperson Laura Watson “We pride ourselves on being a cowboy province and tourism also puts out in their brochures to come out to Alberta and see our wild horses, so I feel that it’s an injustice to the wild horses to eliminate them, but at the same time, pride ourselves on being a province that has wild horses. There’s probably quite a few from the 16th century that need to be DNA tested. With this money, we hope to be able to do some DNA testing and prove their bloodlines.”
Wild horses in Canada are the subject of disagreement, with government agencies stating that the horses are feral and come from animals that have escaped over the years. Many advocates for the horses say this is not true, and that the wild horses in Canada in the Fort MacMurray region are descended from wild horses and not domesticated animals. The goal of the Fort MacMurray fundraiser is to obtain DNA testing to determine which theory is correct, and to protect the animals if they can be traced back to wild herds from the past. In addition to Fort MacMurray fund raising and other efforts to raise money to help wild horses in Canada there is also a petition to provide heritage status to these animals so they are better protected.