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CALGARY — Alberta’s wild horses have long attracted a loyal following: every year, animal advocates protest when the government issues capture permits in a bid to control the feral species that roam the grasslands at the foot of the Rockies.

This year may witness one of the largest such culls to date.

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The provincial government says the burgeoning number of horses — there are now about 1,000 — needs to be reduced by about 20%. Last week, it announced it would issue about 200 of the permits that allow ranchers and enthusiasts to catch them.

Although permit-holders can to do as they please with the animals, most are sold for meat, advocates say.

“There won’t be anything left out here,” said Bob Henderson, president of the Wild Horses of Alberta Society. His group has long disputed the government’s figures and claims the horses are a heritage breed worthy of protection.

“The regulations were introduced in Alberta in 1993 and it’s been going on ever since. In the last couple of years — the 2011-2012 season, they took over 218 head of horses. And except for the young ones we managed to buy, the vast majority went for slaughter.”