An environmental group says the wild horse management plan in Kosciuszko National Park will fail unless there is a significant increase in the number of brumbies being removed.
Key points:
- The National Parks and Wildlife Service has removed 334 horses from Kosciuszko National Park
- The Invasive Species Council says it will not meet the targets of a new management plan adopted by the NSW Government last year
- Brumby advocates want more transparency about what happens to the horses after they are retired
It follows the publication of the first information on the implementation of the plan to reduce the horse population from 14,000 to 3,000, which was adopted in November last year.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service removed 334 horses between February and June of this year, but did not say what happened to the animals.
James Trezise, of the Invasive Species Council, said that number was not enough to keep up with the horses’ reproduction rate, let alone meet the plan’s goals.
“We have 14,000 wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park and that population is growing by 20 percent every year. Removing a portion of it is not going to stop that population from really growing,” Trezise said.
“The feral horse population in Kosciuszko will simply balloon, so there is a clear need to step up and increase efforts to remove much larger numbers of horses from this park through a variety of control measures.”
The Invasive Species Council says wild horses threaten critically endangered ecosystems. (ABC News)
The National Parks and Wildlife Service said the result reflected a “phase-in” of control operations.
Trezise said the recent State of the Environment Report highlighted the impact of invasive species on native ecosystems.
“If we don’t tackle the wild horse in Kosciuszko, it will mean the irreversible loss of critically endangered native ecosystems and species,” he said.
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Ask for more transparency
Brumby advocates have criticized the service for not releasing more information about what happened to the horses once they were removed from the park.
Former Monaro state MP Peter Cochran said the service was doing “everything it could to hide” the operations of the management plan.
“They’re not being accountable, they’re not releasing all the numbers, simply because they’re embarrassed by the way the management plan is being operated,” Cochran said.
“The general public should not have to go to question time in parliament to get information from the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
“They have to be accountable for what they’re doing with the horses, what the outcome of the management plan is, and that’s where the horses are going.”
Former Monaro MP Peter Cochran is calling for more information on the wild horse control plan. (ABC News: Craig Allen)
The plan also includes environmental rehabilitation of areas of the park where horses have been removed.
In a statement, the service said it would not release further details, in order to protect the safety of staff, contractors, visitors and wild horses following the handling and threats of hoaxes.
“During the reporting period, some matters involving interference with control operations and threats against NPWS staff were referred to NSW Police,” the statement said.