Emotions ran high on Sunday after the federal government revealed a plan to almost wipe out the Snowy Mountains brumby population over the next two decades.

Just hours after the announcement, numerous online petitions opposing the cull were established and had received thousands of signatures and comments calling for rehoming the brumbies, as opposed to the proposed “mass killings”.

Owner of Hawkesbury business Wollemi Brumby Haven NSW, Kate Lee, who rescued her first brumby six years ago, said rehoming the animals was enough to keep the population in check.

“Rehoming is a much better alternative to these brutal mass cullings,” Ms Lee said. 

“We're supposed to be the educated species and yet our government is proposing something so barbaric.

“Why aren’t we listening to Snowy Mountain locals, who have been there for generations, instead of politicians who have never even been to the area?”

Alongside her business, Ms Lee created the Facebook page Rehomed Brumbies Where Are They Now?, which rehomes rescued brumbies from Kosciuszko National Park.

With more than 10 rescued brumbies on her property, Ms Lee said the horses made perfect domestic animals.

“These horses are generous, very clever and take to domestic life very quickly, despite the assumption that they’re wild animals,” she said.

A number of community groups have rallied against the proposal, including the Snowy Brumby Heritage Group, with founder Michelle Jenkins saying the plan to reduce the herd number to just 600 was “not viable”.

“With so few individuals, the population will undergo a genetic bottleneck, reducing genetic viability and resulting in their eventual extinction,” she said. “Culling does not provide a long-term, sustainable solution, nor does it acknowledge the horses’ significant heritage.”