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Court rejects application to halt aerial culling in Kosciuszko

Today the NSW Land and Environment Court has rejected an application from pro-brumby activists to halt aerial culling in Kosciuszko National Park.

Judge Robson told the court that no breach of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act or Standard Operating Procedures had been established and rejected the application for an injunction.

Invasive Species Council CEO, Jack Gough said:

‘We are pleased that the ongoing removal of feral horses from Kosciuszko National Park will continue through the use of aerial shooting. This is necessary to save our native animals and protect our mountain streams. 

‘We have full confidence that national park staff are undertaking these important operations professionally, safely and humanely, as has been confirmed by numerous independent reviews, including by the RSPCA and vets. 

‘No one likes to see animals killed, but the sad reality is that we have a choice to make between urgently reducing the numbers of feral horses or accepting the destruction of sensitive alpine ecosystems and habitats, and the decline and extinction of native animals.

‘We’ve seen a number of previous cases now in Victoria and NSW where a small group who don’t want to see a single horse removed are trying to frustrate the important work of our national park staff. To date all of these court cases have been overturned. 

‘This is one of the most closely scrutinised feral animal control programs anywhere in the world. Independent veterinary reviews and assessments by the RSPCA have consistently found that animal welfare is prioritised and that aerial control is being carried out to the highest possible standards.

‘We hope this decision allows park managers to focus on what matters most: restoring Kosciuszko’s internationally significant alpine environment and giving its unique plants and animals the best possible chance of survival.’

Information on all the previously lost court cases:

VIC:

NSW:

  • Snowy Mountains Brumby Sustainability & Management Group Incorporated v State of New South Wales [2020] NSWLEC 92. Judgement. The SMBSMG sought to restrain the State of New South Wales and the Chief Executive of the National Parks and Wildlife Service from completing wild horse management activities in Kosciuszko National Park. Justice Duggan dismissed the case. 
  • Snowy Mountain Bush Users Group Inc v Minister for the Environment [2024] NSWSC 1040. Judgement. Dismissed with SMBUG ordered to pay costs.

Related Content

Counting horses in Kosciuszko: a critique of the ‘independent’ survey
Statement: Court rejects application to halt aerial culling in Kosciuszko
Meet the Invaders: Horses

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    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]


    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]