What you need to know and do about the wild horses of BC

Hi Lasqueti - Simi here!

I am launching a campaign to Save the Wild Horses of BC.

I was inspired by the fact that the Wild Horses of Sable Island were protected by a kid's letter writing campaign!What you NEED to know about the Wild Horses of BC:

British Columbia has Wild Horses that need your help to become protected!

In the Nemaiah Valley and specifically in the Brittany Triangle (in the interior of BC, in the Chilcotin), there are truly wild horses...about 180 of them! In the whole of the Chilcotin area, there are 2000-3000 free roaming and/or feral horses (meaning that they may have at one point been handled or tamed by humans). But in the Brittany Triangle (bordered by the Chilko River, the Taseko River and the Nemaiah Mountains) is where the truly wild horses live.
Recent DNA studies have shown that the Brittany Triangle Wild Horse bloodlines are substantially made up of Canadian Horse, along with a small Russian horse and a small amount of Spanish horse blood. This is extremely new information, because up until now, it has been thought that the horses were mostly Spanish horse blood and/or Mustang. But, now we know that the horses are mostly Canadian Horse, and the Canadian Horse is one of Canada’s National animals, and we don’t want to kill off our national animal, do we?
The horses are especially important to the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation and the Chilcotin Area. Chief Roger William, from the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation is the Wild Horse Ranger and he makes sure that they are all right. For the past 12 years, the Horse Ranger position has been funded by he Friends of the Nemaiah Valley (FONV) Organization (the main group, along with the six Tsilhqot’in (Chilcoltin) First Nations, working to protect the horses and lands of the area). However, because of major mining, logging proposals and unresolved Land Claim disputes in the area, FONV will no longer be able to pay for the Horse Ranger position, because their money is being used to stop these potential huge environmental disasters to the area (which will have negative impacts on the people, place and horses!).

This campaign is asking the Provincial government of BC to grant Protected Status to the Wild Horses of the Brittany Triangle, as well as all of the free-roaming horses of the Nemaiah Valley. This campaign is also asking the government to fund the Wild Horse Ranger program, and that this position remain controlled by the Xeni’Gwetin.

The horses are essential to the Xeni Gwet’in and should be treasured by the whole of BC and Canada...just like the protected horses of Sable Island, Nova Scotia - which are valued because of their historical importance! The horses of Sable Island were protected by a children’s letter-writing campaign in the 1960s....this campaign is hoping to do same, with kids and everybody! The horses are gorgeous animals and they deserve to run free!

Additional Information....

•This campaign fits into a larger proposal being put forward to the Province of BC by FONV and the Chilcotin National Government to create a large protected area: The Dasiqox-Taseko Wilderness Area, which will include the Xeni’Gwetin’s Wilderness and Wild Horse Preserve.
-In order to protect the horses, the land around them needs to be protected.
-The mining and the logging destroys the habitat of the horse’s and all of the other animal’s habitat.

-In the 1920’s to the 1940’s: 10,000 of these horses were shot by the government of BC in bounty killings.
- In BC, the government does recognize these horses as wildlife, but as livestock! The new DNA now proves that they are in fact: WILDLIFE!

Interesting Information about the horses:

-Horses have been roaming that area of land for over 250 years.
-The horse’s height averages around 15 hands high, but can be anywhere from 14.2 hh to 16 hh.
-Every two years there is an arial count from a helicopter that the Friends of the Nemaiah Valley do. They do it in the wintertime, in the snow, so that they can see the horses against the white background.
-In the Brittany Triangle there were two fires in the last 10 or so years. After these fires the wild horses population flourished, and there were way more surviving horses, because the grass grew very tall and was very nourishing.
-1 in 3 foals survives.
-The predators keep the horse population in control. The main predators are wolves and cougars. The bears and grizzlies tens to keep to themselves.
-The horses are very dark in colour and some of the most beautiful horses ever. When most people see them it brings them to tears, because it is so gorgeous.
-When in danger, all of the horses circle the young ones and then the stallion will snort at the predators and when the lead mare gives a signal, they are off running in the trees.
-It is very hard to see the horses in the Brittany Triangle.

HOW TO HELP:

-Write a letter or email (letters are better and more affective) to Premier Christy Clarke and the Minister of Environment, Mary Polak. You can mail letters to both at this address:
PO BOX 9047
STN PROV GOVTVICTORIA, BCV8W 9E2

And/or (both is great) email Honourable Mary Polak at:

ENV [dot] Minister [at] gov [dot] bc [dot] ca

And Premier Christy Clarke at:

premier [at] gov [dot] bc [dot] ca

Also sign the online petition site at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/937/118/649/save-bcs-wild-horses/

Like the page on twitter: @BCsWildHorseshttps://twitter.com/BCsWildHorses

Share and like this on Facebook: Save BC’s Wild Horses
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-BCs-Wild-Horses/173314429528516?ref=hl

For lots more information go to the Friends of Nemaiah Valley website:
http://www.fonv.ca/

Thank you! Together we can save the wild horses! 

For more information or questions email or call Simi at 250-240-3476 or peacepony [at] shaw [dot] ca