122 FA L L 2 014 U N TAC K E D
condition and behavior, she's also
researched shark predation of seals
and marine litter and worked with
the gas and oil industry to monitor
its environmental impact.
From 1801 to 1958, before
modern navigational systems, the
island's human population was
higher, thanks to its lifesaving
station for shipwrecks. During
this time, the horses—which are
not technically wild, rather feral
descendants of equines turned loose
there in the 18
th
century—were
ridden and used for farming. But
they were also periodically rounded
up and auctioned off for use as pit
ponies in the coal mines or slaugh-
tered for dog food, so much so that
by the late 1950s they were nearing
Find Out More
Adventure Canada's next planned
excursion to Sable Island will be
in 2016. You can learn more about
Adventure Canada and their
tours at adventurecanada.com.
For more information on Sable
Island, check out Parks Canada's
website at pc.gc.ca or the Sable
Island Green Horse Society at
greenhorsesociety.com.
TRAVEL
extinction.
In response, children from
across the country banded together
to form a campaign to save the
horses, sending drawings and let-
ters to Canadian Prime Minis-
ter John Diefenbaker and asking
him to protect the herd. In 1960,
the federal government officially
declared the horses protected and
outlawed roundups and sales as
part of the Canadian Shipping Act.
Today, the herd is completely
unmanaged, and Parks Canada has
mandated a 65-foot buffer between
visiting humans and equines to
allow the horses to maintain the
"wild" instincts that have allowed
them to thrive on this sandy, salty
island.
