Barmah Brumby Preservation Group president Julie Pridmore with one of the rescued brumbies she has trained.
Photo by
Geoff Adams
More than 25 feral horses have been found dead in Barmah National Park in the past month, as culling efforts begin.
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Images of partially concealed horse carcases allegedly found in the park have been shared on social media, claiming the animals have been shot.
While Parks Victoria stated feral horse management plans were ongoing, it did not disclose if the horses found in the park were a result of those plans.
“Parks Victoria has an obligation to control invasive species in Victoria’s national parks, including feral horses,” a Parks Victoria spokesperson said.
“The most humane feral horse management techniques have been selected on the best advice.”
Invasive Species Council chief executive Andrew Cox said it was time to return the Barmah Forest to its condition before horses were introduced to the environment.
“We’ve been talking about this for years and the damage keeps growing,” Mr Cox said.
“It’s a special place, and the horses don’t have any special significance here — they’re found all over the world.”
Barmah Brumby Preservation Group vice-president Murray Willaton said the group was willing to re-home the horses so they were not killed, but that they only had five delivered from traps.
A feral horse allegedly found shot in the Barmah National Park.
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Contributed
He said the sanctuary could handle up to 100 head in a year, but instead they were now seeing only a small handful come through because Parks Victoria had not tried hard enough to catch the brumbies.
“The park joint management plan says they are supposed to try to re-home the brumbies, but in the last 14 months their only effort has been to spend one week of trapping and they delivered only five horses to us,” Mr Willaton said.
“I think they just find it easier to shoot them.”
He said he knew of 25 dead horses since the start of May, but believed the real amount shot was greater than that.
Mr Cox said the re-homing strategy was unsuccessful partly because people interfered with the traps.
“There was some interest in taking horses, but the traps were tampered with,” he said.
“We’ve got to the point where they need to go.”
Without the pressure of the large-hoofed animals in the park, Mr Cox said the Barmah Forest could be “actively managed” to return to its original condition.
“There are some good plans in place,” he said.
“The lack of grazing pressure will make a big difference, and there will need to be ongoing pest control.”
Barmah National Park is home to the world’s largest river red gum forests and wetlands and is home to 38 different rare or threatened plant species.
Traditional Owners have a continuing connection with the land in the park, and the Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation is a joint park management partner.
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