Feral horse numbers on the rise in the Snowys as cull fails

Feral horse populations in Kosciuszko National Park have increased by more than 30 per cent in two years despite the state government setting reduction targets, prompting experts to demand a bigger culling effort.

The government announced on Friday there were 18,814 feral horses in Kosciusko National Park in November, a sharp increase from the estimate of 14,380 horses two years ago.

Feral horse populations have increased in Kosciuszko National Park, despite the government’s proposal to reduce them.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Some 859 feral horses were removed between February and December last year.

The government has a management plan that would reduce the horse population to 3000 by June 30, 2027. But heavy rains, flooding and a six-week pause in feral animal shooting have caused populations of invasive species to soar.

Deakin University ecology and conservation expert Professor Don Driscoll said the government had ignored scientific advice and created a much larger problem that was devastating the local environment.

“The Australian Academy of Science has repeatedly urged the NSW government to do a better job of controlling the feral horses,” he said. “They have repeatedly ignored that scientific advice and now they’ve got almost 19,000 horses to deal with.

“If they’re going to get on top of this problem, they really have to rapidly increase the numbers of horses they’re taking out of that park because the natural rate of increase means what they’ve done so far hasn’t even been a drop in the ocean.”

Jack Gough, advocacy manager with the Invasive Species Council, said the alpine region was unable to withstand the damage to streams, wetlands and other ecosystems.

“This alarming rise in feral horses trashing and trampling Kosciuszko National Park should be a red flag for those in the government who care about the environment and are concerned about the future of the Snowy Mountains,” he said.

“The future of vulnerable wildlife such as the corroboree frog, sensitive alpine wildflowers and the headwaters of the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers are at stake if horse numbers are not brought down rapidly.

“If this is not urgently turned around, we may see more than 50,000 horses in the National Park in seven to eight years’ time.”

Gough said while it was understandable that after years of inaction, initial control efforts would be slow to take effect, the current rate of horse removal was nowhere near adequate.

A spokesperson for NSW Environment Minister James Griffin said the government was delivering wild horse control as per the requirements of the management plan.

Feral horse management has been a controversial issue for the government. The current plan, which was signed off last year, is in part a reprise of the 2016 draft management document that also called for the reduction of horse numbers to fewer “than 3000 in five to 10 years”.

However, at that time, there were only about 6000 brumbies in the Kosciuszko National Park, and the numbers have continued to swell, even taking into account the widespread fires in the park during the 2019-20 Black Summer.

In the past three years, National Parks and Wildlife Services has removed more than 10,000 feral animals, including nearly 7000 feral deer. A spokesperson said the key driver behind the boom had been two good seasons of growth after years of drought and fires.

In response to claims that the government needed to do more to reduce feral horse numbers, the spokesperson said that the management plan had been designed to balance the need to protect the park and the best available science.

With AAP

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