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Plibersek puts NSW on notice over feral horse numbers

In the long running campaign to have the NSW government do something about the huge number of feral horses that are causing damage in the Kosciuszko National Park, recent efforts to reduce horse numbers has been welcomed by environmentalists.

Figures announced by the NSW government on 29th January show that 3,530 feral horses have been removed from Kosciuszko since the Plan’s commencement – by re-homing, removal to knackery, aerial and ground shooting, and shooting in yards. However, the Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has announced that she may intervene to ensure a ‘zero-tolerance approach’ to feral horses in the park if the environmental impacts remain too high.

Continue reading “Plibersek puts NSW on notice over feral horse numbers” →

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Control of Kosciusko’s feral horses makes progress

The summer of 2023/2024 has been an eventful time in the campaign to remove feral horses from Kosciuszko National Park. Figures announced by the NSW government on 29th January show that 3,530 feral horses have been removed from Kosciuszko since the Plan’s commencement – by re-homing, removal to knackery, aerial and ground shooting, and shooting in yards. The biggest contributor to the removal total was ground shooting (1,022 horses) followed by re-homing (866 horses) and aerial shooting (822). The proportion of aerial shooting is likely to increase in coming months; the method was not approved by the NSW government until October 2023, after a consultation process.

Continue reading “Control of Kosciusko’s feral horses makes progress” →

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Save the Snowies!

The NSW government is one step away from allowing aerial control of feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park. After years of delay, and continued growth in horse populations, this is huge news and a crucial step for our threatened native wildlife and the fragile alpine ecosystems they call home.

Continue reading “Save the Snowies!” →

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Protect the Alps from feral horses – make a submission today

Australia’s alpine areas are much loved for their majestic landscapes and unique plants and animals. The heads of many rivers are found in their snowy peaks, bogs and streams. Almost a third of the Murray Darling Basin’s annual flows are born from the Alps.

But a marauding population of feral horses are trampling these unique high country habitats.

The good news? Senator Pocock has successfully launched a federal senate inquiry into feral horses in the Alps.

Have your say and make sure Australia’s much-loved Alpine wildlife and their habitats get the protections they deserve.

Continue reading “Protect the Alps from feral horses – make a submission today” →

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‘Feral horse removals in Kosciuszko must ramp-up significantly’

There has been a long struggle to get feral horse numbers managed properly across the mountains of south eastern Australia. The ACT, NSW and Victoria all manage the issue differently, but in NSW the need to manage numbers of feral animals has been caught up in a culture war narrative that has slowed and blocked meaningful action for many years.

The recent release of feral horse removal data for Kosciuszko National Park since February 2022 has highlighted the need to significantly increase removal efforts to protect one of Australia’s most important national parks.

Continue reading “‘Feral horse removals in Kosciuszko must ramp-up significantly’” →

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Victorian feral horse plan a win for Alpine National Park

After public consultation, the Protection of the Alpine National Park – Feral Horse Action Plan 2021 has now been released. This is the Victorian Government’s new plan to ‘improve the management of feral horses and reduce the damage they cause to vulnerable natural and Aboriginal cultural values in the Alpine National Park’.

Unlike NSW, which continues to be beholden to demands from some to keep feral horses in the Snowy Mountain national park, Victoria has taken a stronger position.

Continue reading “Victorian feral horse plan a win for Alpine National Park” →

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Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse management plan released

The long awaited draft Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan was released today. A wild horse management plan was attempted in 2016 but NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro opposed the plan and prevented it from being implemented. Instead, in 2018 he introduced the Wild Horse Heritage Act, which protects the brumbies.

The draft plan has been released for public comment until November. Compared with previous management plans, it does provide a breakthrough in that it has an emphasis on horse removal from certain areas, but it also allows for the retention of 3,000 horses in the park. In an ecological sense this is clearly unacceptable.

Continue reading “Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse management plan released” →

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Please provide feedback on the Feral Horse Action Plan

We know that wild horses pose a major threat to mountain environments in Australia. In the ACT there is a plan to limit horse numbers. NSW continues to be stuck in a ‘culture war’ block that has stopped meaningful action to reduce numbers. Now Parks Victoria has updated their ‘action plan’ for feral horse management in the Alpine National Park.

You can review the draft action plan and provide feedback up until April 23. Once feedback has been compiled, the final action plan will be published ‘mid year’ in 2021 and then Parks Victoria can get on with horse removal..

Continue reading “Please provide feedback on the Feral Horse Action Plan” →

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Parks Victoria releases feral horse action plan for comment

Parks Victoria (PV) have released an updated draft action plan outlining feral horse management intentions over the next ten years.

You have until Friday 23 April to provide comment on the plan.

Continue reading “Parks Victoria releases feral horse action plan for comment” →

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2020. It’s been fun. Let’s move on.

Wow. What a year. Crazy summer fires. Covid lockdowns. Terrible winter snow pack, but also some incredible snow storms. Lots of fighting over our mountains, including the endless culture war argument about horses. Kind of glad it’s almost at an end.

We all know the story: a dry winter and spring led to a horror summer, with massive fires across the eastern Victorian high country, Snowy Mountains and Brindabellas. Luckily Tasmania got off easy last summer.

Then the lockdown(s), which hit mountain and valley towns in Victoria especially hard, isolated Tasmania, and closed the NSW/ Victorian border. The economic impacts of these events will last for a long time.

And then there were the ongoing arguments about how to treat our mountains. It felt like issues were widespread this year. Here’s a few of them:

Continue reading “2020. It’s been fun. Let’s move on.” →
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Namadgi feral horse plan released

Wild horses pose a major threat to the Australian High Country. One of the dilemmas faced by land managers is that horse populations can cross borders to recolonise ecosystems if populations are removed in one state. Cross border collaboration between Victoria, NSW and the ACT is a key part of dealing with the problem.

The ACT Government has sent a strong message to its NSW and Victorian counterparts with the release of the Feral Horse Management Plan for Namadgi national park, which was devastated in last summer’s fires.

Continue reading “Namadgi feral horse plan released” →

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‘Deputy premier’s attack on NSW parks service condemned’

As the long debate over management of wild horse populations continues, the NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has launched an extraordinary attack on the state’s National Parks and Wildlife Service and NSW environment minister Matt Kean.

Campaign group Reclaim Kosci has condemned the comments and says that there is a risk that the public debate could be reduced to a ‘slanging match on talkback radio’ rather than a mature, policy focused conversation.

Continue reading “‘Deputy premier’s attack on NSW parks service condemned’” →

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