A Senate inquiry into the impact and management of feral horses in the Australian Alps has heard that the number of wild brumbies needs to be drastically reduced.
The News.com.au website reports that wildlife experts have warned a minimum of 6000 wild brumbies need to be killed each year in order for the NSW government to reduce its feral horse population at Kosciuszko National Park.
The state has a target of reducing the number of the animal to 3000 by 2027, with the current population estimated to be between 14,501 and 23,535.
Speaking at the Senate inquiry, Invasive Species Council advocacy manager, Jack Gough, said current removal at rates about 1000 horses a year would only result in the population increasing to 32,000 by June, 2027.
Main Range walk alpine herb fields in Kosciuszko National Park. PIC: E Sheargold / DPE
News.com.au says Mr Gough described the pest as ‘the final nail in the coffin’ which could send at least 21 native species extinct, and the hard hoofs of the horses were also damaging the park’s delicate Alpine terrain.
“We are seeing a national park being turned into a horse paddock,” he said. “At the moment the techniques that are on offer and the level of resourcing that’s there is not allowing us to do that, and the impacts are obvious.”
He said that, while removing 2800 horses a year would keep the population stable, a significant 6000 brumbies would have to be killed annually over the next four years for NSW to reach its 3000 target by 2027.
The NSW Government is currently seeking feedback on a proposed amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan. The proposed amendment would allow aerial shooting as an additional option for the control of wild horses alongside the existing methods such as trapping and rehoming, and ground shooting.
The community is encouraged to provide input on the proposed amendment until September 11, 2023.
A final decision will not be made until all feedback has been considered.
The NSW Minister for the Environment and Heritage Penny Sharpe recently stressed the need for urgent action to be taken.
“Kosciuszko National Park is the largest national park in New South Wales, it has Australia’s tallest mountains, rugged landscape and plants and animals found nowhere else in the world,” she said. “It’s one of the jewels of our national parks crown but it is in grave danger … precious ecosystems and endangered native species and their habitats are at risk of extinction due to introduced animals, including wild horses.”
She said that recent reports showed that, without action, wild horses could tip threatened species to extinction.
“New South Wales is not on track to meet the wild horse population target under the legislated Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan, which is why we must consider the introduction of aerial shooting, carried out by skilled, highly trained shooters to the highest animal-welfare standards,” she said. “We have an obligation to save these native animals, but we only have a limited window of opportunity to do so. If they become extinct, they are lost forever.”
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Unsure how they get to these figures do they make up these numbers ?
Maybe they should get rid of the pigs instead.
Feral pigs do huge damage!
About 15 years ago I was shown a photograph of a feral pig that was shot in Western Australia, it was hoisted up using a hoist on a Land Cruiser 4WD and was similar size to a cow.
Yes. Deer Pigs probably do as much damage
if the brumbies are to be reduced perhaps capture and sell instead of shooting them
thank you Heather … I agree with you
I’ve walked and skiied the Kosckiusko region since the 1960s, and the damage from the horses is terrible, much worse than pigs and other feral animals. The horses look great from a distance, but close up they do not look in good condition, many obviously have some sort of mange. Believe the Rangers, scientists, walkers, bush volunteers, Indigenous locals – the horses must go.
I totally agree with you Francis. Whenever I’ve been through that area I have never seen any more than about 20 brumbies, and I go through there regularly. However I have also seen wild pigs and deer as well, so I don’t know why they are targeting the beautiful brumbies.
This is BS the numbers are wrong it’s another attempt to eradicate anything to do with our colonial past from the left.
No way, the early people were farmers I read, so the horses must be native animals.
sarc.
What about the Deer, Rabbits, Pigs, Goats ……?
Donkeys, camels, buffalo, cats, dogs….
Ridding the alpine areas of destructive pests should be a no brainer.
I love horses to the extent that I used to breed appaloosas. If feral horses are killed humanely and not left to rot in the field as a lure to other feral animals such as dog, cats and pigs, Then they should be euthanised post haste.
We have to stop pandering to the nay sayers, that offer no other solutions to this problem.
Several equine experts have advised the numbers quoted are incorrect and the stated increase in numbers is physically impossible.
Absolutely Possum. Time for the emotions to be discarded. Brumby numbers must be reduced.
It’s our responsibility to ensure we have no more native animal extinctions and desecration of delicate ecosystems on our watch.
Reducing Brumby numbers urgently is essential.
Extinctions?
Please consider the extinctions here long before colonisation in 1788.
What they need to do with brumbies is take out the stallions first which will reduce numbers by not reproducing so quickly to start with. Then numbers won’t increase so quickly … they probably still need to cull old mares and then go after younger stallions as well. No stallion no reproduction .., it’s far better than shooting mares with foals at foot that if both are not shot one is going to be in some sort of danger either starvation if it’s a foal or may be severe mastitis if it’s a mare. Just saying …
if they euthanise the stallions they partly go to reducing numbers more productively than just shooting anything … ..
Good comment.
Totally agree
Totally agree with the above solution.
The biggest pest are the humans that couldn’t manage a root in a brothel
Ha Ha.
These numbers are false? There has been areal culling , trapping, many measures to remove our Brumbies! And some hidden agenda to mislead the public re the numbers! My contacts ,who hail from that region near Kosciusko assure me ,that numbers are way down, the Brumbies do no damage to the environment! and this whole story is ridiculous! Feral pigs, goats ,do a lot of damage- but these horses have been there over 100 years now! They are part of our History, our story as a Nation,and they belong in KNP as much as the native animals! As as for the cruel .barbaric slaughter ! it is illegal and must be stopped! I’ve gotten involved to the point I have taken in two little Brumby mares, and hundreds have been saved this way! I hope everyone will get behind our own Brumbies, and help us (stop the bullets).absolutely no excuse! And lest we forget most of the remounts in first world war were from Brumby stock, those gallant horses were warriors who played a huge part, saving lives, serving their country,
What needs attention is the now increasing fuel on the ground, blackberry bushes etc., since VicGov banned the grazing of cattle on what used to be grasslands maintained by Aboriginal seasonal burning developed over the several thousand years before 1788. They burnt when conditions were suitable and in a patchwork design so that new growth burning ran out of fuel when it reached the previously burnt “patch”.
The early white settlers discovered the grasslands and used them for summer grazing purposes and as they left at the end of the season they lit fires to prepare the areas for the next year and to reduce the risk of wildfires.
During the early days of the Colony of New South Wales & New Zealand, Sydney Town located on Port Jackson shore, cattle went missing and the colonials assumed they were stolen by Aborigines. However explorers in the now Camden District found the cattle thriving on grassland near permanent water supply, another example of Aboriginal land maintenance that they carried out for their own safety, ease of movement, attracting animals for food when needed.
Snow Mountains Cattlemen Association and Country Fire Association of Victoria members and volunteers who regularly ride horses in the National Park and grazing country have expressed their concerns about the neglect of the land and the fire hazards presented and increasing.
They also say that the alleged Brumbies problems are exaggerated for political reasons and purposes.
Humans, in their perversion are always quick in blaming Animals. What about the massive world overpopulation of human animals
Yes there are many feral or introduced species doing incredible damage all over this wide brown land from Cats to Camels and Goats and Pigs along with Deer and Horses to name just a few. Any sort of control of any of these species is going to cost a lot of money which seems to be a problem with so many projects these days that one has to ask if the biggest problem actually begins with the Greed in Canberra. They seem to have a huge problem with getting the money to where it is needed and if money is allocated then it seems to dry up somewhere in the process that takes forever to navigate through the Governments paper trail.
I notice one of our prominent politicians went out to lunch and that included a $1,000.00 bottle of wine so where does the taxpayers money get spent and it don’t look like it gets spent in our National Parks.
Remember the bushfires and one of the reasons for the fires was blamed on lack of maintenance in National Parks which was caused by budget cutbacks.
I do not condone mindless slaughter but there needs to be a better way of managing our national parks that what is happening right now. Meanwhile our Pie Man is wasting huge amounts of money on other useless projects.
I am totally against with the plans of slaughtering our beautiful brumby! There are better ways of management.