State to pause on brumbies cull as legal stoush continues
Culling of Victoria’s High Country brumbies was due to begin in just over a weeks time, but a last-minute Supreme Court battle has gifted the horses a stay of execution. Here’s how opposers plan to permanently stop the killings.
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Victoria’s High Country brumbies have received a stay of execution after a last-minute Supreme Court battle.
Omeo cattleman Phil Maguire sought an injunction against the state of Victoria and Parks Victoria, which last week won a legal bid to remove up to 400 feral horses damaging the national parks.
Mr Maguire and the Australian Brumby Alliance opposed the move, arguing the horses were part of the High Country heritage and should be able to roam freely.
It emerged at a hearing at the Supreme Court that “operational reasons” had delayed the shooting of horses by Parks Victoria.
Culling was due to begin in the Eastern Alps after May 26, but that has been further delayed until the matter is dealt with in court.
An injunction was not required after Parks Victoria said on Monday it would not proceed with the cull until at least June 1.
That would allow a daylong hearing on May 26 to decide whether a final injunction should be granted, and Justice Steven Moore to deliver his judgment.
Mr Maguire told the Herald Sun his objective was to have brumbies added to the Alpine Heritage List and managed sustainably and humanely.
If numbers were deemed excessive he favoured rehoming the horses, he said.
Mr Maguire, whose alpine grazing property borders the Bogong unit of the Alpine National Park, is also fighting to save the Bogong brumbies from eradication.
He plans to muster the 100 remaining Bogong brumbies and depasture them on his property “until common sense prevails”.
Parks Victoria chief executive Matthew Jackson said the organisation had “a legal and moral obligation to protect the native species” at risk of extinction due to the impact of feral horses and other pests.
“The conservation of Alpine National Park is key to this,” Mr Jackson said.
“Native alpine plants and animals that are found nowhere else on the planet are not equipped to deal with the weight, grazing, hard hoofs or trampling of feral horses.
“By removing large invasive herbivores from the sensitive landscape, Parks Victoria is providing a greater chance of survival for native species.
“Feral horse management is one component of an integrated approach to reducing the impacts of introduced animals in the Alpine National Park.”
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