Brumby cull could be days away
There are fears that the Victorian Government will instruct DELWP to begin aerial shooting the wild brumby population in the Alpine National Park next week, believed to commence in the isolated area of Suggan Buggan.
The action would directly defy the current brumby management plan (2018-2021) which states that ‘aerial and ground shooting will not be used to control free-ranging feral horses’.
Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, said the Environment Minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, needs to confirm the shoot is happening.
“This is serious. There is real fear that this barbaric action is about to happen with an apparent approval given for Parks Victoria to aerial shoot after the long weekend,” Mrs McArthur said.
“Not only is this wrong, and counter to evidence about the brumby damage, but the timing is appalling.
“On Tuesday, the nation revels in the Melbourne Cup, a celebration of horses. With the public distracted, this Government simultaneously intends on shooting brumbies from a helicopter.
“Right now on the ground in the Alpine Park are pregnant brumbies and some that have already foaled with week old foals at foot.
“The impact of aerial shooting exposes the horse population to separated family groups, isolation of foals, panic among the animals and the potential that brumbies will be wounded, but not killed.
“There is a reason NSW has banned aerial culling: it’s barbaric, cruel, inhumane,” Mrs McArthur said.
The Standard Operating Procedures for on-ground shooting explicitly state: `Horses must not be shot from a moving platform, as this can significantly detract from the shooter’s accuracy’.
“And yet, it would seem, that Minister D’Ambrosio has signed off on aerial shooting – most definitely fitting into the description of a ‘moving platform’, Mrs McArthur said.
The Brumby Action Group, advocating for wild-living brumbies, is shocked by the news of a clandestine assault on brumbies.
It believes helicopters will be used to ‘flush out brumbies from privately owned land onto crown land near Suggan Buggan so they can be shot from the air’.
The brumby management plan supports passive trapping and rehoming of the horses. Despite this, no expressions of interest have been advertised for rehoming.
The public consultation component to evaluate the 2018-2021 plan, and potential aerial shooting, has also not been undertaken.
The Australian Brumby Alliance says no accurate count of brumby numbers has been carried out to provide a benchmark. It also says no environmental assessment has been done to determine what impact horse removal has made – whether it has helped or hindered – since the 2018 plan began.
This is despite evidence that feral animals such as pigs, deer, foxes and rabbits - and changed irrigation of the park - are the main causes of grassland and park decline along with the decimation of small native animals and birds by wild dogs and cats.
Deer ringbark the trees during the rut in the mating season.
Pigs wallow in the wet areas of the park causing major erosion issues, and can breed twice a year with up to 10 piglets in a litter.
“Meanwhile horses are lucky to produce one live foal a year in the wild – and without domestic veterinary care – their longevity is short,” Mrs McArthur said.
“These animals are part of Australia’s heritage and our history.
“They helped build this state before anyone thought of electric vehicles and farm machinery. They helped our nation develop.
“Labor cares little for our heritage, and it would seem, even less for the care of these horses. Where is the Animal Justice Party on this one?” Mrs McArthur asked.
Mrs McArthur said locals are not only worried about the horses, but about human safety in the park.
“If this shooting is happening – signs are required on-ground to warn the public that bullets will be flying.
“These signs are not up. And if they’re not up, this shooting is not on.
“The Minister would be well advised to focus on the real culprits of environmental decline in the Victorian Alps.
“In the meantime, she needs to tell the public if the aerial shooting approval has been given.”
31 October 2021