Environmentalists have welcomed federal funding to cull feral horses in Australia's bushfire-affected alpine areas to protect endangered native wildlife.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
An $8 million alpine recovery pledge was announced on Saturday by Environment Minister Sussan Ley, a day after Ms Ley took a guided tour of struggling habitats in the Kosciuszko National Park.
A third of the NSW alpine park was burned last summer's catastrophic fires, exacerbating long-running problems with pest animals' devastating impact on native species.
Alpine river guide Richard Swain showed Ms Ley through the landscape he grew up on, where growing brumby populations have turned grasslands into paddocks depriving native skinks, rats, frogs and mice of their home.
"Destruction is across the entire ecosystem," Mr Swain, a Wiradjuri man, told AAP.
Endangered species such as the mountain pygmy possum, broad-toothed rat, southern corroboree frog and smoky mouse have lost their hiding holes. Without shelter they're exposed to eagles, other birds of prey and cats and foxes.
The horses also trampled sediment into creeks, which affected fish breeding, Mr Swain said.
The impact of pest animals, particularly horses and deer, in the Kosciuszko region and broadly through the Australian alps is well documented.
While the feral deer numbers are being addressed with aerial shooting, Mr Swain said horses had been left to multiply unabated because of an "emotional battle".
He is deeply at odds with the NSW government's legislation passed in 2018 to protect wild brumbies.
The bill's champion, NSW Nationals leader and Deputy Premier John Barilaro, has called the brumbies "part of the cultural fabric" of the country "for almost 200 years".
"I don't believe that brumbies are a sign of our Australianness," Mr Swain told AAP.
"I believe they're a sign that as Australians we don't care enough about this country."
He said many people seem to cling only to a "colonial version" of the country.
"If the horse doesn't belong, they don't belong, so they really belligerently argue that the horse is now part of Australia," Mr Swain said.
The Invasive Species Council for which Mr Swain is an ambassador said Ms Ley's commitment to addressing the feral horse problem was a momentous show of support.
"It's been dodged as a federal issue up to this point," council chief executive Andrew Cox told AAP.
"We love horses but there are way too many and they don't belong in a national park."
Mr Cox said the the animals should be shot from the air and it should be done in a humane way and with RSPCA approval.
He hopes the new funding will be rolled out quickly because environmental destruction increases daily.
The federal government's $8 million investment has been informed by a workshop of stakeholders including scientists and traditional owners who came together in September to identify how to protect endangered species.
The funding is part of a larger environmental rehabilitation plan following last year's fires.
Australian Associated Press
