Five wild horses found dead being called ‘a disgusting act’

At least five wild horses have been found dead in the Chilcotin, and locals suspect they were senselessly shot. “It’s a disgusting act,” said David Williams of Friends of the Nemiah Valley. “I hope whoever did it is caught and charged.”

The horses are thought to have been killed about a week ago, although news of the discovery is only leaking out now, said Roger William, chief of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation. They were found in a meadow area near the road into the Nemiah Valley, about 25 minutes from the Yunesit’in reserve.

Predators have chewed away at the carcasses, making it difficult to ascertain a cause of death.

“Five in one area ... they were most likely shot, that’s my feeling,” William said in an interview on Monday. “We’ll put it out there that we’re concerned and aware. We’re going to be watching out to see this doesn’t continue.”

Alexis Creek RCMP Sgt. Don Racette said he personally saw three dead horses during a trip to the Nemiah Valley on other business, but said there were no shell casings on the ground and nothing obvious to prove they were shot. Poisoning and wild predators are other potential causes.

No one has launched an official complaint with RCMP. Since wild horses are not “wildlife”, they don’t fall under the jurisdiction of the provincial Conservation Officer Service.

William said wolves have difficulty catching a strong wild horse, but might be able to take down a younger or older animal. During such an attack, the other horses would run for the hills, making it very unlikely that a wolf pack could have taken them all.

The Nemiah people have a long-standing culture of capturing wild horses for domestication. The B.C. government has also paid aboriginals to catch wild horses due to concerns about their impact on cattle grazing. Some of those culled horses were used as wolf bait, for domestic purposes, or sent to slaughterhouses.

A genetic study of the wild horses of Chilcotin’s Brittany Triangle has found strong ties to the Canadian horse — a unique breed to Canada that had its origins in France — and, to a lesser extent, the Yakut horse from Russia’s eastern Siberia.

The forerunners of today’s domestic horse evolved in North America but disappeared from the continent about 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, the study noted.

Explorer Alexander Mackenzie did not record the presence of horses when he travelled on foot through the region to the Pacific Ocean at Bella Coola in 1793, but Simon Fraser did in 1808 when he explored what would become the Fraser River.