Parks Victoria’s brumby cull comes under fire from Australian Brumby Alliance

Freedom of Information documents have revealed experts’ concerns about the effectiveness of Parks Victoria’s brumby extermination method.

Experts have concerns about the effectiveness of Parks Victoria’s preferred brumby extermination method of a clear shot to the head.

Freedom of Information documents seen by The Weekly Times reveal an advisory group told Parks Victoria last August that shots aimed at a horse’s head were “problematic”, raising doubts about the tactics that would be used in the controversial planned cull.

The documents, obtained by the Australian Brumby Alliance, reveal Parks Victoria’s feral horse technical reference group told Parks Victoria in a meeting that shots at the head were “problematic” given that “even vets in close proximity miss the brain”.

Multiple shots fired at the chest with more powerful ammunition to “ensure the explosive force in the chest area is sufficient for reliable instantaneous death” was discussed as a potentially more humane option.

A Parks Victoria tender calling for shooters to cull 5500 horses in Victoria’s Alpine and Barmah National Parks closed this month, with the successful contractor’s name to be kept under wraps.

The tender documents state horses must be shot under the Australian ground-shooting standard, with a clear shot to the head or heart and lungs.

More than 5000 brumbies are earmarked for culling in Victoria. Picture by Sean Davey

Tender documents also stated that shooters could take out pigs, deer and goats, but feral horses were the “primary target”.

It’s unclear whether Parks Victoria adopted the advice of the technical reference group from the meeting last year.

ABA president Jill Pickering said Parks Victoria was determined “to exterminate something that has value to many people” rather than consider alternative strategies to reduce brumby numbers.

Member for Benambra Bill Tilley said the documents revealed a focus on managing the message and perceptions on the brumby cull.

“They don’t want to be seen as inhumane in shooting the brumbies, so they use ammo that will blow out their insides,” he said.

“Clearly the science, the facts, didn’t do it.

“This extermination of these horses is rooted in ideology, not in science, it’s a PR stunt to win some votes from a sectional interest group.”

Ms Pickering said the Australian Brumby Alliance was “just looking for balance” in conversations about control measures.

“We are turning ourselves over backwards to try and be reasonable,” she said.

“But it’s getting us nowhere.

“We are infuriated by the blanket statements used in the documents.”

Ms Pickering said rehoming brumbies and ongoing management by fertility control were “achievable in Victoria”.

“We want their heritage to survive,” she said.

Member for Benambra Bill Tilley

A Parks Victoria spokesman said damage caused by feral horses in the Alpine and Barmah areas was “evident”.

“The most humane feral horse management techniques have been selected on the best advice and Parks Victoria needs to respond to the current situation with the best techniques available,” he said.

“As a result, Parks Victoria has developed a Feral Horse Action Plan 2021 to guide the management of feral horses and their impacts on the Alps in the coming years.”

Originally published as Parks Victoria’s brumby cull comes under fire from Australian Brumby Alliance