The Invasive Species Council have welcomed a decision by the NSW Government today to amend the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow aerial shooting as a method to reduce feral horse numbers in Kosciuszko National Park.
Jack Gough, Advocacy Manager for the Invasive Species Council said:
“Today our native wildlife and mountain streams have had a huge win.
“By lifting the arbitrary ban on aerial shooting, the Minns Government has made it possible for feral horse numbers to be urgently reduced in Kosciuszko National Park.
“Now our park rangers can finally get on with the difficult task of removing thousands of feral horses before our mountains and rivers are trampled beyond repair.
‘When it comes to managing the out-of-control feral horse population, we need all available tools in the toolbox. That includes aerial shooting by highly trained professionals using protocols reviewed by independent animal welfare experts.
“The science is crystal clear and the public and political mood has shifted as Australians have become better-informed about the damage feral horses are doing to the high country.”
‘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.
“Today’s incredibly important decision has been built on a massive community movement that has demanded our political leaders take action to protect our native wildlife.”
Local Snowy River guide, founder of the Reclaim Kosci campaign and Invasive Species Council Indigenous ambassador Richard Swain said:
“This is a momentous decision by Environment Minister Penny Sharpe and Premier Chris Minns.
“The senseless destruction of Country by feral horses over the last 20 years has been a national disgrace.
“For two decades the most humane and effective method for removing feral animals has been off the table for feral horses due to political cowardice.
“Finally the health of the soil, water and our native species in the Snowy Mountains has been put above short term politics.”
Professor Jamie Pittock, an expert on the ecology of the Alps and impact of the feral horses from the ANU’s Fenner School of Environment and Society said:
“The years of delay and inaction have seen feral horse populations rapidly increase and this has had devastating environmental consequences.
“Feral horses are wreaking havoc in the high country. The alpine swamps which are home to threatened species like corroboree frogs are being destroyed. The headwaters of our major rivers are being polluted and turned into mud baths.
“Scientific modelling makes it clear that aerial shooting is the only method that will allow the government to reduce the feral horse population and save threatened native wildlife like the alpine she-oak skink and corroboree frog.”
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Background notes
- Hundreds of thousands of other feral animals, like pigs and deer, are routinely culled using aerial shooting as part of normal invasive species management across NSW, including in Kosciuszko National Park, by National Parks, Local Land Services and private landholders.
- In Kosciuszko National Park 4,583 deer, 669 feral pigs, 15 goats and 17 foxes were removed in the three years to the end of 2022 through aerial shooting.
- National Parks have a legal obligation to carry out control operations to reduce the feral horse population to 3,000 by 2027 to protect the Park.
- The numbers of feral horses being removed in NSW using currently available control techniques is well below the population growth rate and thus insufficient to control the growth or spread of feral horses. From July to December 2022, 525 feral horses were removed – well below the population growth rate of about 15% -18% per year.
- National Parks staff undertake this work professionally, humanely, and safely. This was confirmed last year by an independent animal welfare review of feral horse control operations which found that:
- Animal welfare outcomes are prioritised and are better than predicted, as confirmed by independent veterinary observations.
- There was no evidence of non-kill shots having been taken.
- Standard Operating Procedures are rigorously followed, and all personnel have welfare as a priority.
- The current management plan for feral horses, which was introduced by the former Liberal Government, states that ‘Animal welfare assessments advise that, if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.
- Australia’s alpine plants and animals did not evolve with heavy, hard-hoofed feral horses. They are not native and cause enormous damage to sensitive habitat, degrading and polluting alpine streams and driving native species towards extinction.
- The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee have described feral horses as an ‘imminent threat’ to the Albanese government’s commitment to prevent new extinctions of plants and animals and stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.
- The population of feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park has rapidly increased due to delays and inaction, with the latest government population survey showing a 30% jump in the past 2 years to over 18,000.
- The 2023 state election demonstrated that having a strong position on feral horse management in Kosciuszko was electorally popular. There were strong swings to candidates and parties that took firm positions on feral horse control, most notably in the seats of Wagga Wagga and Monaro.
- 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 the Australian Alps.
How many feral horses need to be removed to reduce the population?
Modelling conducted for the Invasive Species Council by ecologist Dr Don Fletcher has found that to get to 3,000 by 2027, 5,991 horses will have to be removed annually (based on an annual population growth rate of 15% – the average growth rate since 2003). The modelling finds that:
- At the current rate of removal of 1,050/year, the population could reach ~32,900 by 2027.
- Just to stop the population from growing, 2,825 horses will have to be removed every year.
- At a higher 18% growth rate, 6,419 will have to be removed annually to reach 3,000 by 2027.
- Delaying adequate action will increase the cost, damage and number of feral horses killed. For example, a 3-year delay in reaching 3,000 will mean an extra 6-7,000 feral horses are killed.