Shooting An Icon And Destroying History
The Victorian Government’s disdain for celebrating our poignant and cherished Gallipoli history is extending beyond its approach to wire-fenced war memorials.
The High Country brumby population is also being targeted.
Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, said the brumby population includes descendants from the 39 348 Walers, the warhorses that served the First Australian Imperial Force.
“These horses were an integral part of our war effort.
“Sadly, the Victorian Government now wants to shoot their descendants who have become scapegoats for environmental damage caused by a range of pests,” Mrs McArthur said.
Mrs McArthur was among those who recently rallied in Barmah against the government plan to shoot the brumbies.
She told the rally that the Andrews Government is ignorant of rural life and is persistent in efforts to erode country traditions.
While grazing stock, Mountain Cattlemen previously managed the High Country brumby population and attended to sick, old or unhealthy brumbies.
The Victorian Parliament was addressed on the matter this week.
“Now dictates from bureaucrats in Melbourne govern the High Country – and rather than controlling the population of far more destructive and populous species such as deer, pigs, dogs, goats, cats, foxes et cetera, they choose to shoot brumbies,” Mrs McArthur told Parliament.
“They are selecting to shoot brumbies – animals that they see as symbols of Victoria’s colonial past – a past they would prefer to erase.
“This is unacceptable and these creatures, beloved by many Victorians, should be left to roam free.”
Mrs McArthur said recent photos of shot brumbies from October 2020 and February 2021 in the Eastern Victorian Alps are disturbing.
“Have these deaths been investigated? Who shot these horses and why?
“Typical of this Government - it faces many questions but gives few answers.”
The Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio, has been asked to detail the Government’s eradication efforts for the feral animals doing the environmental damage currently blamed on brumbies.
“I would like the Minister to reveal just how much effort is being undertaken to cull the deer, pig, dog and cat populations which are the real culprits of native flora and fauna destruction.”
A coalition of `Save the Brumby’ groups will rally in Melbourne next Wednesday, 5th May, from the Treasury Gardens to the steps of Parliament House.
They want Brumby protection to be legislated - and for Government to drop plans to shoot 530 brumbies in the Eastern Alps/Bogong High Plains and 90 in the Barmah National Park this year.
30 April 2021