Brumby campaigners vow to continue rally at McGirr's office

On horseback and on foot, over 400 protesters met on at Kosciuszko National Park (KNP) in opposition of the culling of wild horses in the region, on Sunday March 30.

The closure of a northern zone of KNP comes into effect on April 4 until October 4, two months ahead of the regular closure date June 10.

During this time, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will conduct aerial shooting operations of feral horses, deer and pigs.

Wagga veterinarian Lynne Bodell attended the rally at KNP and believes aerial shooting of wild horses is an inhumane practice.

"It's inhumane because you can not get an accurate shot of a galloping horse from a moving helicopter," she said.

"Some of these horses are going to escape into the rugged terrain and have a horrible death."

Wild horses are a threat to native plants and animals as they cause degradation to the environment.

Ms Bodell says that "everyone agrees brumby numbers must be managed", but suggests rehoming more brumbies as an alternative to shooting.

"They need to be controlled, there needs to be control, that's not contested," Ms Bodell said.

"Even if they [the NSW government] put a fraction [of funds] into rehoming, it would be a much nicer alternative, there wouldn't be all this outcry."

Ms Bodell is a member of the Snowymountainbrumby Action Group on Facebook, and is planning to join a group gathering outside Independent MP Dr Joe McGirr's Wagga office on Friday April 5.

Dr McGirr is supportive of the aerial shooting program.

"While I understand the attachment of the protesters to wild horses, and respect their right to demonstrate, colourful phrases such as "end the massacre" are not helpful, given the culling is a scientifically managed operation, overseen by the RSPCA, with best practice aims of humanely removing feral species that have a major effect on the environment, threatened native species and vegetation."

"Nobody likes the idea of culling horses, but aerial shooting has been shown to be the most effective and humane way of tackling a problem that has been left untreated for too long..."

In response to Sunday's rally at KNP, Invasive Species Council advocacy director Jack Gough says that if the protesters get what they want, feral horses will destroy the native environment.

"We have a choice to make, and that choice is between urgently reducing the numbers of horses trashing and trampling the high country of Australia, or we start to see those numbers remain out of control and the headwaters of the Murrumbidgee being polluted and the high country of Australia be damaged beyond repair."

Mr Gough says that those conducting the aerial shooting are doing it according to standards set out in the KNP Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan (WHHMP) which was implemented in November 2021.

"Aerial shooting is routine practice when it comes to managing feral animal populations and we know there have been individual studies done including the RSPCA which show national park staff are conducting their work in line with standard protocols, they're doing it safely, and professionally," Mr Gough said.

The WHHMP requires feral horse numbers to be reduced to 3000 by June 2027, retaining horses in 32 per cent of the park on the basis of their historical and heritage value.

The NSW Government estimates there are between 12,797 - 21,790 wild horses in the Snowy Mountains, according to a study peer-reviewed by CSIRO and the Queensland Department of Agriculture.

This number is a major point of contestation as brumby activist say that the number could be as low as 10 per cent of government estimations.

The activists are calling for a pause in the shooting operations and park closures in order to reassess the numbers.

Biostatistician Claire Galea and Rocky Harvey created a crowd-funded project for an independent count of wild horses in the KNP.

"We are confident that the density will be significantly lower than what NPWS states, which will demonstrate the need for the government to cease relying on the current inaccurate counting methods," the GoFundMe page said.

The count uses AirborneLogic aerial images and shows a count of 403 horses, as of April 2.

A spokesperson from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) says that the crowd funded project "fails to detect a proportion of the horses, particularly those obscured by vegetation".

"Aerial photos are useful tools, but they can only show a small proportion of the horses in the given area at a point in time," the spokesperson said.

"When viewing the images, lines are seen across the landscape. These are not natural lines - they are horse tracks. Such tracks would not naturally exist and should not exist."

Dr McGirr said that claims of there being fewer than 3000 brumbies in KNP are "anecdotal and not backed by science".

The division continues, with brumby advocates suggesting the government increase the number of feral horses rehomed.

Former nurse, and brumby advocate Sue Tsacos owns a rehomed brumby, and is organising the rally outside Dr McGirr's office which aims to stop the planned aerial shootings.

The Wagga local is concerned that the national parks are not making brumbies available to meet the demand of applicants who wish to rehome a brumby.

"We could rehome a lot, but parks make horses available like drip feed," she said.

"They're told they can't find the horses, which is bizarre if they can't find them."

Rehoming brumbies requires applicants to have sufficient facilities and experience before enlisting to receive wild horses from the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The management plan includes rehoming operations, with over 950 horses rehomed under, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

A NSW legislative council inquiry into proposed aerial shooting of brumbies in KNP was created in August 2023, and remains ongoing.

It inquires into the survey methodology, justification of urgency, threat of brumbies to endangered species, animal welfare, and other related matters.

The inquiry committee received 538 submissions.

Popular tourist spots including Yarrangobilly and the ski fields are unaffected by the northern zone closure from April 4 until October 4.