The shooting of a baby horse along a popular road in Kananaskis Country is under investigation.

The foal was found injured along McLean Creek Trail, southwest of Bragg Creek, and reported to Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services on May 23 at about 6:48 p.m., according to a statement from the province.

RCMP spokesperson Gina Slaney said Kananaskis Emergency Services found the foal, reported that it had been shot, and euthanized it.

She said Cochrane RCMP is investigating. The area the foal was found shot is designated a firearm use restriction zone, meaning no shooting is allowed within one kilometre of the road.

Wildlife photographer Patti Miyazaki, who has been following this particular herd in the Elbow River area for the past several months, said she had been looking forward to watching the foals grow up.

“I’ve been going out there like two, three times a week,” she said.

“It’s tragic, it’s hurt me deeply. It’s very emotional. I’ve grown attached to this herd of horses.”

Miyazaki said she believes the foal had most likely been born about two days before being shot.

“I spent like an hour with her on Saturday taking pictures of her, and [I thought] I had the whole summer to take pictures of her, and she’s gone,” she said.

Alberta Fish and Wildlife is not involved in the investigation, according to the province’s statement.

“Since the matter is alleged to involve the shooting of livestock, the file was handed over to the RCMP for investigation. No Fish and Wildlife officers were dispatched,” the statement read. 

Horses considered feral, not wildlife

The Alberta government considers free-roaming horses feral animals rather than wildlife, meaning the horses aren’t protected by the Wildlife Act. Instead, horse management falls under the province’s Stray Animals Act, which includes regulations for horse capture and relocation.

McLean Creek Trail is located in the provincial government’s Elbow equine management zone. It’s one of four equine management zones where the province says horse numbers have reached “unacceptable” levels.

WATCH | Alberta government, wild horse advocates disagree on population levels:

The province’s feral horse management framework, established in 2023, lists removal from the wild, putting horses up for adoption and administering contraception as strategies for horse population control.

Alberta’s free-roaming horses have amassed significant social media followings as part of the international wild horse watching and advocacy community, which includes the Help Alberta Wildlies Society, an advocacy group with around 700,000 followers on Facebook.