Health Canada has granted approval for testing a birth control vaccine on free-roaming horses in Alberta. The Alberta government deems it necessary to control horse populations to prevent excessive grazing impact on cattle and wildlife areas in certain regions of the province.
Among the strategies outlined in the province’s feral horse management framework are contraception, removal from the wild, and adoption. Health Canada confirmed that the Alberta government received a research authorization for the use of the SpayVac-Equid contraception vaccine in feral horses, emphasizing that this authorization is for research purposes only and not for general use.
The Alberta government is currently reviewing the specifics of the approval related to horse contraception. According to the Department of Forestry and Parks, management actions are being implemented in a safe, humane, and science-based manner, with a focus on data gathering and adoption.
A recent feral horse survey identified 2,072 wild horses in Alberta, the highest count recorded, with populations in certain zones considered unsustainable. The province distinguishes these horses as stray animals rather than wildlife.
In a new initiative building on past efforts, the province and the Wild Horses of Alberta Society initiated a contraception pilot project in 2014 using the ZonaStat-H vaccine. The project revealed challenges such as high costs per dose and difficulties in administering booster shots due to rugged terrain.
The current plan involves capturing horses, administering the SpayVac-Equid vaccine manually, and releasing them back into the wild, marked for identification. This method, with an 85 to 95 percent success rate, prevents conception for several years without affecting herd dynamics, and eliminates the need for booster shots.
The Wild Horses of Alberta Society aims to launch the contraception project this fall as part of a comprehensive population control strategy, including capturing a limited number of young stallions for removal from the wild. The society also focuses on rescuing, rehabilitating, and adopting out horses that stray onto private property, having taken in over 200 horses since its establishment in 2002.