Right: Brumbies in an Australian alpine national park.
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Arguments against the aerial culling of brumbies
1. Previous aerial culling has been unacceptably brutal
Critics of aerial culling condemn the practice for its cruelty. Criticism came to a head in October 2000 after a cull organised by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in Guy Fawkes River National Park. The cull was conducted over three days.
The horses were driven up against an escarpment by a helicopter hovering above the trees, and then marksmen opened fire with semi-automatic rifles. More than 600 horses were killed. Some horses were shot and left to die. One mare was shot while giving birth. Foals whose mothers had been killed were left to starve.
Greg Everingham, a local pastoralist who found the carcasses, took his photographs of them to the media. In a report published in The Guardian on November 6, 2000, Mr Everingham said, 'The manner in which these horses were killed was absolutely barbaric. It was damned murder - that's what it was.'
Mr Everingham further stated, 'I've never seen anything as awful as the sight of those horses. Some of them would have taken hours, even days, to finally die.' It was reported that the RSPCA euthanised a pony with two high-calibre bullet wounds to its shoulder nearly two weeks after the culling took place.
The RSPCA laid aggravated cruelty charges against the NPWS. On October 30, 2000, the Australian Veterinarian Association (AVA) issued a media release which included the statement that it was 'appalled by the brutal slaughter of 600 horses'. It also stated that it was outraged 'at the apparent lack of concern by NPWS for the welfare of the many horses which suffered terribly in this incident.'
The AVA has stated that aerial culling should only be considered in 'open arid and semi-arid country, where helicopters can easily pursue any injured animals to ensure they can be put down without undue suffering.' The AVA has specifically stated, 'The very rugged forest terrain in Guy Fawkes River National Park is not suitable for this because of the obvious difficulty in conducting the operation in the most humane manner possible.'
The AVA joined the 'Increasing public criticism from reports that many of the horses had sustained large numbers of bullet wounds to the body, legs and even the rump when marksmen are meant to kill humanely with clean shots to the head.'
The October 2000 aerial cull has come to represent the what such a practice can degenerate into, even when performed by supposedly capable operators.
2. Brumbies are an established part of the alpine ecology and do not pose a significant environmental threat
Supporters of the brumbies remaining in the national parks claim that, after the length of time the horses have been there, they are now part of the parks' ecology. Megan Hyde, manager of northern New South Wales's New England Brumby Sanctuary, has claimed, 'They have every right to be there, as much as any animal. They have been there much longer than the national parks.'
Supporters of the brumbies remaining in the national parks, without culling, claim that their impact on the natural environment has been exaggerated.
Clive Edwards, vice-president of the Snowy Mountains Bush Users Group, has stated, 'The horses have been there [Kosciuszko] for 200 years. If they are causing this impact on flora and fauna, what has been made extinct or ... seriously impacted by the brumby? They can't name a single thing; they won't be able to. The impact is negligible.'
Brumby advocates also dispute claims that brumby numbers are reaching unsustainable levels. They claim that survey numbers are unreliable as mustering by helicopter in rugged terrain concentrates horses through valleys, which leads to double counting. It also assumes annual growth of about 20%, which does not account for bad seasons, such as the deaths caused by 2014's late snow.
Kathryn Massey of the Hunter Valley Brumby Association has claimed that 'Living in the wild means natural attrition controls the populations through the impact of blizzards, bushfires, long winters and so on.'
Ms Massey has stated, 'In such circumstances, older horses and younger ones will die. The 2003 Kosciuszko National Park bushfires, for instance, wiped out 50 per cent of the population of brumbies by reducing available food and habitat. Without intervention, the population just stabilises.'
3. Brumbies are an important Australian cultural icon
Supporters of the brumbies remaining in Australia's national parks see these animals as of great cultural significance.
There are those who see brumbies as a tangible link to Australia's colonial past. They point to the significance of the Silver Brumby novel series by Elyne Mitchell as well as Banjo Paterson's The Man From Snowy River, a poem dramatically presenting the race to capture a valuable colt that had 'joined the wild bush horses'.
The continuing significance of the Patterson poem is claimed to be shown in the successful film which was made around its story line. That Australians still see the Snowy River area and the wild horses found there as culturally significant is claimed to be demonstrated by the nature of the opening ceremony for the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
An analysis of the brumby management dilemma published in The Guardian in August 2014 notes, 'When Australia chose to portray itself to the world in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, it chose 120 stockmen and women dressed in bush clothing and mounted on stock horses, riding to the soundtrack of The Man From Snowy River movie.'
It has also been claimed that the historical significance of these horses has been scientifically proven. The horses in Guy Fawkes River have been genetically tested to prove that they are descendants of the cavalry horses used in the Australian Light Horse Brigade in World War I. In 2002, a heritage working party found that they had significant historical, military and cultural value; they are now a registered breed.
Erica Jessup, who is part of the Guy Fawkes Heritage Horse Association, has stated 'Most Australians are a bit brumby. They epitomise our culture.'
Some of those who still live in Australia's high country claim a special connection with the feral horses. Peter Cochran, who runs a horse trekking business now out of his alpine property at Yaouk and is the president of the Snowy mountains bush user group and the chairman of the Tourism Snowy mountains board, has stated, 'The brumby is symbolic of freedom but is also symbolic of the spiritual relationship between man, land and their horses and there has been a longstanding connection between the human being and the horse...
That relationship extends to the brumby and the brumby has now become symbolic of the battle which the people of the high country have had to maintain their freedom over the years.'
4. Brumbies are a tourist attraction
Supporters of brumbies remaining in the high country have noted the extent to which they are already a tourist attraction and the capacity there is for brumby tourism to be expanded.
The member for Wagga Wagga, Daryl Maguire, has stated in response to the New South Wales Government's decision not to continue with aerial culling, 'This region's economy hinges on tourism. The natural environment of Kosciuszko National Park is a major drawcard to the area and wild brumbies are also an attraction.
I am pleased the NSW Government is committed to finding an acceptable way to protect this unique landscape while maintaining a sustainable wild horse population.'
Supporters of brumbies remaining in national parks and adjoining areas have argued that their tourist potential could be used to fund brumby management programs. The Hunter Valley Brumby Association has stated, 'The tourist potential of the Brumbies should be explored and utilised.
For example, Brumby spotting tours could be run, and some of the proceeds of these tours could contribute to funding the management program. Alternatively yearly licences could be purchased by businesses and individuals to conduct Brumby related tourist activities within the park. They would keep the profits from these activities, but the cost of the licence would go towards funding the management program.'
One of the current brumby sanctuaries, The New England Brumby Sanctuary, situated on the outskirts of Armidale New South Wales has managed to successfully incorporate tourism into its activities.
Bellingen is a country town near the sanctuary with monthly markets and a range of tourist activities. A Bellingen holiday with a visit to the Mountain Thyme Brumby Sanctuary (a smaller offshoot of The New England Brumby Sanctuary) is proving popular. The sanctuary welcomes visitors by appointment and accepts donations to assist in its work.
Similarly, visitors to the Victorian high country and Barmah Forest are attracted by the opportunity of seeing wild horses and some tourism operators, particularly some horse-riding tour operators, promote their tours by advertising the chance to see one.
5. There are other, humane methods of controlling brumby numbers
Those who object to aerial culling, yet consider there may be reasons to reduce brumby numbers or remove them altogether, argue that there are other management strategies that can be employed.
Programs have been put in place to remove the brumbies through trapping or mustering and roping. Areas where trapping is employed are characterised as having suitable road/trail networks to provide transport of trap yards and the safe removal of animals.
In the Alpine National Park, Parks Victoria is working in partnership with the Australian Brumby Management Association (ABMA) to reduce feral horse populations in target areas by roping and mustering. Members of the ABMA contract to Parks Victoria to complete the work. The terms of the contract includes conditions relating to animal welfare, the prohibition of dogs, notification of capture trips and the reporting of trip outcomes.
Once the animals have been removed from the national parks there are a number of brumby rescue groups which seek to re-home them.
In autumn 2002 Parks Victoria erected feral horse and domestic cattle exclusion fences around two sensitive sub-alpine bogs on Davies Plain. Fenced sites were selected on the basis of records of threatened bog-dependent fauna. Evidence from faeces and tracks outside the fences, but not inside, indicates that when in good repair the fences effectively exclude both feral horses and domestic cattle.
Another management strategy of particular interest is the use of contraception. The New England Brumby Sanctuary began trialling a contraceptive vaccine in 2014. The Sanctuary founder, Jan Carter, has stated, 'We want to contain breeding (at the sanctuary) and it's our hope, in a few years time, to convince the government to start using fertility control in parks which will be a lot cheaper in the long-term than trapping them and pulling them out.' Dams remain infertile for four years and the contraceptive can be delivered by dart.