Brumby Action Group Incorporated

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BRUMBY CRUELTY PHOTOS

BIOSTATISTICIAN’S REPORT ON THE GOVERNMENT BRUMBY COUNTS

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Brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park Instagram Brumby-strong

Between October 2023 and November 2024 the New South Wales Government spent $8.3 million aerial shooting Brumbies, despite Brumbies being protected by Legislation enacted in 2018, that acknowledges the Heritage value of Brumbies and protects that value and the environment.

It is the duty of the appointed Manager, National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) to manage Kosciuszko National Park and all wildlife living in the Park.

Despite this mandate, NPWS consider “management” includes barbaric and cruel aerial shooting to be a tool of management, similar to the Guy Fawkes Massacre of Brumbies in 2000. The shooting includes mares in foal with a single gut shot, left to die drawn out deaths, foals and stallions.

Brumbies are pursued at high speed by airborne helicopters until they drop from exhaustion then shot with a .308 rifle, up to 15 times. Foals, mares in foal and stallions. It is barbaric and cruel as many are left to die drawn out deaths. For the Brumbies it is terrifying and a cruel long death.

In a civilised society it is unacceptable to treat sentient creatures in this way. We must retain the Legislation that protects Brumbies to ensure management proceeds and takes place in a humane way.

(Link to see photos of Brumbies that were aerially shot between October 2023 and November 2024)

The Management Plan for the Park allows 3,000 Heritage Brumbies to live across four retention zones in areas that are less fragile than other areas. Because there is uncertainty about numbers by NPWS, the Minister has agreed for NPWS to simply aerial shoot Brumbies “until they reach 3,000”. yet there are no published numbers for each retention zone, nor a declaration about how many may live in each zone.

There are management tools including trapping and rehoming beside barbaric aerial shooting that may be used.

Withought the Legislation, Brumbies are at risk of ongoing Barbaric and cruel aerial shooting.

Link to Gallery of Images

Australia’s wild living horse, the brumby, is cherished in the hearts and minds of the Australian public, not only because some of today’s brumbies’ have a genetic connection to army remounts sent overseas to support our soldiers, but also because of their connection and inspiration for some of Australia’s most loved authors and environmentalists, Elyne Mitchell for example (The Silver Brumby series) and Banjo Paterson (The Man from Snowy River). Brumbies represent “freedom” for Australians, they are an integral part of our language and a significant feature of Australian Tourism.

The battle for brumbies did not cease after the war, it continues today, as friendly advocates fight for the right of the wild living horse to continue living free from cruelty in National Parks in most States of Australia.

Kosciuszko National Park and Eastern Alps of Victoria

Brumby Action Group Incorporated President, Ms Marilyn Nuske, states:

“The New South Wales and Victorian Governments adopt arguments based on distortions about brumby populations. Brumbies have lived in the high country for nearly two centuries and are now part of the biodiversity.

Wild living horses form symbiotic relationships with wildlife, present since colonization, or even before National Parks were declared, and the symbiotic nature of their presence continues today. Claims brumbies impact the environment or threatened species are simply untrue and unproven scientifically.

Kosciuszko National Park (KNP)

In KNP Brumbies are protected by Legislation The Kosiuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act introduced by the Parliament of New South Wales in 2018 to recognise the Heritage value of Brumbies and to protect that value. It is the duty of National Parks and Wildlife Services, the managing agency to respect that Legislation.

There has never been an impact study about Brumbies, both negative and positive undertaken by any Government. There is in fact no credible and factual evidence to the claim Brumbies cause damage in National Parks.

Brumbies support regeneration of good flora and protect the environment from wildfires by reducing overgrowth.

There is an international rewilding movement because of the advantages large herbivore bring to the environment.

 The rhetoric based on untruths must be put to the test,and we have called upon the NSW Government to cease lethal control, continue to manage in accordance with the Legislation and undertake an impact study.

But the fight is not over “a romantic notion”, of what is a cultural icon. The battle ground has shifted to a more sinister level of what has become inhumane and cruel treatment of a sentient creature.

In October 2023 the New South Wales Government introduced aerial shooting wild horses even though aerial shooting had been banned in New South Wales for 20 years, because it was found to be too cruel as a consequence of the Guy Fawkes massacre of Brumbies.

National Parks and Wildlife Services introduced their own Standard Operating Procedures, that were in total contraditional to the National Regulator, Pestsmart Standard Operating Procedures for humane management, which does not approve aerial shooting from helicopters, ground shooting free roaming wild horses due to the potential cruelty, nor any activities with brumbies in foaling season.