Current measures are no longer enough. Australian local authorities approved on Friday October 27 the resumption of the slaughter of wild horses in one of the country’s largest national parks, a measure deemed necessary to protect fauna and flora.
Around 19,000 wild horses, called “brumbies” in Australia, live in Kosciuszko National Park in the southeast of the country. New South Wales state authorities want to reduce this number to 3,000 by mid-2027.
Park officials already eliminate wild horses on the ground with guns or traps, or transfer them elsewhere. But according to New South Wales Environment Minister Penny Sharpe, “native species are facing extinction and the entire ecosystem is under threat” because of excessive numbers of wild horses. “We must act,” said the minister. “It was not an easy decision to make, no one would want to kill wild horses,” said Ms. Sharpe.
Pest animals
Brumbies are considered by authorities to be harmful animals because they increase soil erosion and kill vegetation by grazing or trampling it. They also cause burrows to collapse, compete with other animals for food and shelter and also make water points unsanitary.
The helicopter slaughter method had already been briefly used in 2000. More than 600 wild horses were killed in three days. But local authorities then backed down in the face of public outrage. Opponents of the cull claim horses are part of Australia’s national identity.
Australia has up to 400,000 wild horses, according to the Invasive Species Council, an Australian NGO which welcomed the decision of the state of New South Wales on Friday. The number of brumbies in this Australian state is currently increasing by 15% to 18% per year, much more than the number of horses eliminated by current eradication methods, noted Jack Gough, a spokesperson for this NGO.