By Equestrian Life

It’s been a long-running debate: are the Snowy Mountain Brumbies a national icon or feral pests? Pro-brumby activists argue the former, while environmentalists are certain of the latter.

In a big win for supporters of these wild horses, NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro announced yesterday that new legislation will be introduced to parliament this week that would see the brumbies’ heritage value recognised. The legislation would essentially mean that the horses wouldn’t be culled; instead, some brumbies would be relocated from environmentally sensitive areas. It’s yet to be established how this relocation would take place. The bill will require all future plans of management for Kosciuszko National Park to consider the cultural significance of the horses.

This legislation goes against a 2016 government report that recommended 90% of the 6,000 brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park be culled - reducing the herd to 600 over the space of 20 years.

Environmentalists argue that the brumbies are endangering more than 20 plant specialises and seven animal species - including three endangered frogs. Much of the perceived damage by wild horses occurs around waterholes and streams where the native vegetation - that hasn’t evolved to cope with hard hooves - is damaged by the horses.

Read more about the Brumby Bill here.

Read a conservationist’s take on the proposed legislation here.

The Australian Brumby Challenge takes totally wild Brumbies, passively trapped as part of an on-going management program, from the High Country of Victoria and Southern New South Wales. You can read more about the Challenge here.

 

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