By Horse Journals Media

June 14, 2018 - Town council in Beaverlodge, Alberta has turned down proposed changes to a bylaw that would have banned horses from that community. Changes to the Beaverlodge Animal Licensing and Control Bylaw would have allowed horses currently owned to be grandfathered in, with new horses allowed on land zoned for agriculture.

The giant beaver statue at Beaverlodge, AB. Photo: Town of Beaverlodge Facebook page

But Mayor Gary Rycroft says the new council was not comfortable with getting rid of horses altogether, stating that council was caught almost completely unaware by the proposed bylaw amendments which date back to 2015.

In a report from MyGrandePrairieNow.com, Rycroft states, “We need to take care of everybody, but eliminating horses from the community just doesn’t sit that well with me. We have to come up with a formula that takes care of the people that own the horses, takes care of the horses, and takes care of the neighbours. If the neighbours don’t want horses on their doorstep, well, we’ll have to have barriers.”

He plans to investigate other options to fix the problem, and meanwhile the bylaw will go back to committee to consider next steps.

The main street of Beaverlodge, AB. Photo: Wikimedia/Qyd

“My family’s been here for over 100 years; horses were the mainstay of this community and built it. It’s part of our heritage and it’s very important,” says Rycroft. 

The Town of Beaverlodge has a population of approximately 2465 and is located in northern Alberta, 43 km west of Grande Prairie, and 48 km east of the British Columbia border. 

Main photo: Beaverlodge Pony Club Facebook

– with files from MyGrandePrairieNow.com.