An exploration into political ecology and nonhuman agency: The case of the wild horse in western Canada

Free‐ranging wild/feral horse populations are found worldwide in a variety of habitats. The animals have varied ecological impacts and socio‐cultural significance which are reflected in profoundly different management approaches. Using qualitative methods, this article investigates divergent perceptions of wild horses in western Canada employing two different frameworks: that of political ecological constructivism and that of nonhuman agency in a more‐than‐human geography. Government authorities mostly view the wild horse as an alien introduced species which competes with native wildlife and negatively impacts native ecosystems as well as interferes with resource industries. In this article, I suggest that the prevalent government view may be interpreted as an example of environmental orthodoxies. This view will be contrasted with an interpretation of wild horses as reintroduced wildlife, based on the findings of molecular biology using mitochondrial DNA analysis, and adopting a paleoecological perspective. However, this view, too, can be challenged as to its objectivity. Finally, this article will show that an engagement with wild horses as nonhuman agents, particularly through the lens of nonhuman charisma, is crucial for understanding the dynamics of change in government approaches to wild horse management as well as a culturally differentiated relationship with these animals .