The grizzly discovery of dozens of dead horse carcasses in Kosciuszko National Park has sparked an unlikely alliance between horse trainers and animal activists across Australia.
Even more alarming, many horses have been killed while drinking, meaning they’ve fallen into waterways that run to dams for human consumption.
At least 70 horses, or brumbies, have been brutally butchered on the vast Snowy Plains in the middle of the National Park.
And the number is expected to increase.
A disgruntled resident found a dead horse, cut off its head and carried it into the Department of Wildlife headquarters in Jindabyne for the stunned visitors.
He dumped it there.
“The police are now involved in this,” the Department of Wildlife media spokesman said.
The brumby cull has become a divisive issue on social media.
So far, 70 horses have been found dead in the Snowy Plain – some in waterways polluting people’s drinking water
“Is this the humane culling of wild horses we’ve been promised,” leading racehorse trainer Richard Freedman asked on Twitter.
He was sickened by what he saw, while many others joined the chorus of disapproval.
“Apparently these were shots from the ground, not from the air, which is less accurate,” he continued.
Did this story make ABC News? I think they are too busy promoting their pet to worry about this cruelty.”
Of the number already photographed, all have gunshot wounds to the head or neck, and in some cases multiple bullets fired make for a gruesome sight. But it is the pregnant mares that disturb the most.
When a heavily pregnant brumby mare is shot and killed shortly afterwards, she aborts the baby.
It’s heartbreaking and sickening.
Peter Cochran, a resident of the region who took pictures when he saw the destruction, told AboutRegional magazine: “It’s bloody awful this, the result of what is supposed to be a humane cull in a subalpine – not alpine – area and some of those horses would have suffered slow, painful deaths, which is probably why they had to be shot twice.”
“And I don’t know of any horse mob that stands still after a shot is fired, so I think this is the result of horses being shot elsewhere and chopped in one place,” he reasoned.
Banjo Paterson would turn in his grave when the great Australian poet gave the revered voice to the brumby through his classic poems, Clancy Of The Landing And The man from Snowy River.
One of many killed in Kosciuszko National Park – a four-month-old foal
This foal was shot in the abdomen and died in the KNP
Winter has descended on the snowy plain and snow will soon freeze these dead carcasses, leaving a reminder on the landscape that when spring arrives.
Former Monaro MP, Deputy Prime Minister of NSW and National Party leader John Barilaro introduced the ‘Brumby Bill’ to the NSW Parliament in 2018, a move he believed would protect wild brumbies through humane culling .
In 2018 there were an estimated 14,500 wild brumbies and a slow, but humane and systematic culling was decided upon to reduce those numbers to just 3,000 in the National Park, particularly in areas known as Brumby Territory.
But despite initial efforts to reduce numbers, they have increased with an estimated 2022 population of over 18,000 now roaming wild and free.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service says the culling is necessary.
“Removal of feral horses will take place in accordance with animal welfare best practice, based on advice from authorities such as the RSPCA,” reads a statement on the website.
“National Parks and Wildlife Service will continue to prioritize passive trapping and rehoming where it leads to the highest animal welfare outcomes.
“Where that is not feasible, the draft plan offers a range of other options, including ground shooting under strict conditions that ensure the highest animal welfare standards are met.”
Locals like Cochran say… so what?
“If there was a sea of horses, you’d notice them,” he said. “But you have to go a long way to see brumbies up there, unless you go to Currango Plan and Tantangara, where there are masses, but in my opinion they are kept for propaganda purposes,” he said.
“If there is a minister to show the brumbies in large numbers, they will be taken there.
“But no one listens to the truth, or common sense, and science is being corrupted by politics.”
Yet another legally slaughtered brumby on the Snowy Plain
Cochran was a Member of Parliament for Monaro for many years, but now runs a horse trekking company through the snow.
“I’ve always said it’s outrageous that they’re being culled for the nonsense that they’re destroying the environment – when you see how many other species up there are destroying the park – foxes, pigs, deer – it’s incomprehensible that the horses are to be blamed,” he said.
“And you don’t have to go far to see the damage Snowy 2.0 is doing, but there’s no mention of that.”
The Monaro MP, Steve Whan, said in the same AboutRegional article that he was on the side of the reduction in feral horse numbers in KNP.
‘I have no objection to shooting from the air, that has been done for many animals, including deer and pigs. But at this stage we don’t.
“So at this stage we are implementing the previous government’s plan, which is basically about shooting on the ground,” he said.
Gunmen employed by NPWS, Whan said, had to meet extremely high criteria for the accuracy of their kills.
That may be questioned, as activists note that some of the horses had multiple gunshot wounds.