The grisly discovery of dozens of dead horse carcasses all through the Kosciuszko National Park have prompted an unlikely alliance between horse trainers and animal activist across Australia.
Even more disturbing is that many horses have been slain while drinking, meaning they’ve fallen into waterways that run to dams for human consumption.
At least 70 horses, or brumbies, have been left brutally slaughtered on the vast Snowy Plains right in the National Park.
And the number is expected to increase.
One disgruntled resident found a dead horse, chopped its head off and walked it into the Department of Wildlife’s head office in Jindabyne in front of stunned visitors.
He dumped it there.
‘The police are now involved in this,’ said the media spokesman for the Department of Wildlife said.
The brumby cull has become a divisive issue on social media.
So far 70 horses have been found lying across the Snowy Plain dead – some in waterways contaminating human drinking water
‘Is this the humane culling of wild horses we were promised,’ asked leading racehorse trainer Richard Freedman on Twitter.
He was sickened by what he saw, as many others joined the chorus of disapproval.
‘Apparently these were from ground shots, not aerial, which is less accurate,’ he continued.
‘Has this story made it to ABC News? Too busy promoting their pet causes to be worried about this cruelty, I suppose.’
Of the number photographed already, all have gun shot wounds in the head, or neck and in some cases multiple rounds fired makes for gruesome viewing. But it’s the pregnant mares which disturbs the most.
When a heavily in foal brumby mare is shot and killed shortly thereafter she aborts the baby.
It is gut-wrenching and sickening.
Peter Cochran, a resident of the region who took photos once he saw the destruction, told AboutRegional magazine: ‘It is bloody horrible this, the result of what is supposed to be humane culling in a sub-alpine – not alpine – area and some of those horses would have had slow agonising deaths, which is probably why they had to be shot twice.’
‘And, I don’t know any mob of horses that would stay still after a shot has been fired, so I reckon this is the result of horses being shot elsewhere and being choppered into one spot,’ he rationalised.
Banjo Paterson would be turning in his grave as the great Australian poet gave revered voice to the brumby through his classic poems, Clancy Of The Overflow and The Man From Snowy River.

One of the many dead in the Kosciuszko National Park – a four months old foal

This colt was shot in the belly and died in the KNP
Winter has descended on the Snowy Plain and snow will soon freeze these dead carcasses, leaving a reminder on the landscape that when spring arrives.
Former Monaro MP, NSW deputy premier and National Party leader John Barilaro introduced the ‘Brumby Bill’ into the NSW Parliament in 2018, a move he thought would protect the wild brumbies by humane culling.
There were estimated to be 14,500 wild brumbies in 2018 and a slow, but humane and systematic cull was decided to lower those numbers to just 3000 in the National Park, particularly in areas known as brumby territory.
But, despite initial attempts to reduce the numbers – they have increased with a population estimate in 2022 of over 18,000 are now running wild and free.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service says that the culling is necessary.
‘The removal of wild horses will occur in accordance with best practice animal welfare requirements, informed by advice from authorities such as the RSPCA,’ a statement on its website reads.
‘National Parks and Wildlife Service will continue to prioritise passive trapping and rehoming, where it leads to the highest animal welfare outcomes.
‘Where that is not practicable, the draft plan provides a range of other options including ground shooting subject to strict conditions which ensure the highest animal welfare standards are met.’
Locals like Cochran say … so what?
‘If there was a sea of horses you would notice them,’ he said. ‘But you have to go a long way to sight any brumbies up there, unless you head to Currango Plan and Tantangara where there are masses, but in my opinion they’re retained for propaganda purposes,’ he said.
‘If there’s a minister to be shown the brumbies in sizeable numbers that’s where they’ll be taken.
‘But nobody’s listening to the truth, or common sense, and the science is being corrupted by politics.’

Yet another legally slaughtered brumby on the Snowy Plain
Cochran was a Monaro MP for many years but now runs a horse trekking business throughout the snowy.
‘I’ve always said it’s outrageous they’re being culled on the nonsense they are destroying the environment – when you see the number of other species up there destroying the park – foxes, pigs, deer – it’s incomprehensible the horses are being blamed,’ he said.
‘And you don’t have to go far to see the damage being wrought by Snowy 2.0, yet not a word is said about that.’
The Monaro MP, Steve Whan, said in the same AboutRegional article that he was on side with the reduction in numbers of wild horses in KNP.
‘I don’t have an objection to shooting from the air, it’s done for a lot of animals, including deer and pigs. But at this stage we’re not doing that.
‘So at this stage, we’re implementing the previous government’s plan that actually involves ground shooting,’ he said.
Shooters employed by NPWS, Whan said, were required to meet extremely high criteria for the accuracy of their kills.
Which may be brought into question as activists note some of the horses had multiple bullet wounds in them.
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