Health Canada has given the green light for a birth control vaccine to be examined on free-roaming horses in Alberta. The Alberta government deems it necessary to control horse populations to prevent them from overgrazing cattle and wildlife areas.
One of the strategies outlined in the province’s feral horse management framework is contraception, alongside removal from the wild and adoption. The government obtained a “research authorization” for the use of the contraceptive vaccine SpayVac-Equid in late August, as confirmed by a Health Canada spokesperson.
The Alberta government is currently assessing the specifics of the approval concerning horse contraception. The latest feral horse survey found a record 2,072 wild horses across Alberta’s equine management zones, with population levels in certain zones deemed unsustainable.
To address the issue, a new strategy is being implemented to build on previous attempts. The province and the Wild Horses of Alberta Society initiated a contraception pilot project in 2014 using the ZonaStat-H vaccine. The project highlighted the challenges of contraception due to costs and the rugged terrain where the horses reside.
The Wild Horses of Alberta Society president Jack Nichol mentioned a new plan to capture horses, administer the vaccine manually, and release them back into the wild. This method boasts a high success rate, lasting contraceptive effect, and minimal disruption to herd dynamics, unlike the previous approach. The goal is to launch the contraception project this fall as part of a comprehensive population control strategy that includes capturing young stallions.