Fourth man charged in connection to the shooting of wild horses north of Calgary.

Another man has been charged in connection to the shooting of several wild horses in the Sundre area.

As many as thirty wild horses have been found dead over the past decade. After years of reenactments and backcountry investigations, arrests were finally made in January. Acting on a trespassing and poaching complaint in November, Police charged Jason Nixon and Earl Anderson, as well as a thirteen-year-old boy. Nixon and Anderson are connected to the Mountain Aire Lodge near Sundre, a ministry run by Calgary’s Mustard Seed.

Animal rights groups were disappointed Monday morning when none of the men appeared in Didsbury court; however, a forth man was accused of the shooting – Gary Cape.

Wild horse advocates believe the arrests convey a message that the horses are important, but they hope to see the animals have greater protection under the law.

“It makes me sick and I think we have to do something about the laws so that these animal abusers will no longer get a slap on the wrist. Psychological assessments should be automatic when there is an animal abuse case” says Heather Anderson from the DAISY animal rights group.

The arrests are only linked to the death of one horse, authorities continue to investigate the rest of the cases.

The four accused will appear back in court March 29th.