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Horses for courses

Kosciuszko National Park - Anne Reeves

Guy Fawkes River National Park - Lynne Hosking

Feral animals have no place in areas protected for biodiversity conservation. Right?

This is certainly the long-standing position of NPA and nominally also of our State agency responsible for managing these areas, the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The NPWS is vociferously criticised for failure to control "vermin" (read feral dogs, foxes, pigs, rabbits and so on). Yet, illogically, some have also turned on the Service for seeking to reduce wild horse numbers. Admittedly, the Service itself sends confused messages to the public, giving support to recreational horse riding through provision of horse camp facilities and surface hardening including in selected areas of Kosciuszko NP.

Ambiguity about some of the more endearing introduced animals, notably horses and deer, has paralysed NPWS for years over moves to cull (let alone eliminate) these animals from key sensitive areas, despite escalating numbers and clear proof of adverse impact. Horses have a particularly devoted human following, elevated to cult status through such epics as The Man from Snowy River. Appreciation of the horse and horsemanship does not mean support for introduced hardhoofed animals in areas protected for high conservation value.

In Kosciuszko, feral horses have increased to such numbers that some have colonised alpine areas, and are a threat to human safety along the Alpine Way, with high numbers in the Pilot Wilderness northwards to the Big Boggy. Up in the northern area of the Park, numbers are also building up from natural increase and – according to some mutterings – by deliberate release.

The NPWS have established a Wild Horse Working Party involving horse people, conservationists and researchers. Agreement has been reached on the need to remove wild horses from the fragile alpine areas with a pilot scheme under way – until the winter snows hit. A good step forward. The trial involves salting, then yarding and walking out under the supervision of experienced horsepeople. Longer term solutions are more problematic: brumby running under permit as practised in Victoria runs the risk of entrenching a new national park adventure activity in NSW.

NPA is working to break the paralysis that has prevented the NPWS from removal of feral horses from our national parks, and calls for an end to the provision of special horse-riding facilities in places such as Kosciuszko. But there is still a lot of work needed to reach agreement on horses for courses – and that means NOT in national parks.

Anne Reeves
NPA Vice President