The dimensionality of human-free roaming horse interactions in Alberta ...

• Main Author: Kincaid, Adela Tesarek
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Arts 2015
• Subjects: Geography; Forestry and Wildlife; Environmental Sciences; free roaming horses; animal-human interactions; human-wildlife interactions; human dimensions of wildlife; wildlife management; TEK; local knowledge; wicked problems; Qualitative Research; Situational Analysis; transdisciplinary; arenas and worlds; Postmodernism; Metis; Indigenous; Canada
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/prism/28065; https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/11023/2097

Approximately 12 000 years ago wild horses were a natural part of the North American ecosystem. Contemporary DNA evidence suggests that horses (Equus lambei) spread from North America to populate all other areas of the world. Domestic horses (Equus caballus) were reintroduced to North America during colonization; through escape or release, they established themselves once again on the landscape and currently inhabit areas of the western USA and Canada. The overarching goal of the research is to describe the perspectives and discourses of multiple and collective actors toward FRH in the research area and to demonstrate the necessity of broadening the basis of decision making in policy related to FRH. I used qualitative research approaches including semi-structured interviews that focused on 24 respondents. I documented perspectives of local people who share the land with FRH as well as those with multi generational knowledge. Mainly, I relied on transdisciplinarity and situational analysis (also referred to ...