Wagga MP Joe McGirr was praised by enviornmental groups for his stand. Photo: Parliament of NSW Facebook.
Wagga MP Joe McGirr announced this week his intention to introduce a bill to parliament aimed at lifting restrictions on the culling of wild horses at Kosciuszko National Park.
Dr McGirr’s bill seeks to repeal former deputy premier John Barilaro’s Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act, which recognised the heritage value of the brumbies and sought to preserve their presence in the Snowy Mountains.
“Horses cause major damage to the alpine landscape, trampling wetlands and destroying habitat so it makes no sense to continue with a law that effectively requires that damage to continue,” Dr McGirr said.
He argued that the Barilaro bill, introduced in 2018, effectively gave priority to the protection of horses – a damaging invasive species – over the preservation of native flora and fauna in the national park.
“We would never accept a law that prioritises the protection of wild pigs, goats or foxes over native species yet under the current law, we do just that for horses,” Dr McGirr said.
“It is time to reverse a wrong of the past and give the fragile high-country environment a chance to recover from years of degradation.”
Dr McGirr’s initiative follows the presentation to parliament in May of a petition signed by more than 11,000 people calling for the repeal of the Barilaro bill.
Environmental group the Invasive Species Council led the petition and is strongly supporting Dr McGirr’s repeal bill.
The council’s CEO, Jack Gough, said the repeal bill would give the parliament an opportunity to reverse years of environmental degradation in the park.
“‘For the sake of our native animals and precious mountain streams, we are calling on Premier Chris Minns and Opposition Leader Mark Speakman to come together to support Dr McGirr’s bill,” he said.
“Dr McGirr is showing real leadership and standing up for science, for nature, and for the public good.”
The repeal bill is strongly opposed by the Brumby Action Group, who are dedicated to the preservation of the species and believe claims about wild horse damage to the ecosystem are exaggerated.
The culling of horses in the Snowy Mountains has sparked heated debate. Photo: File.
The group has an active petition on website change.org calling for a ban on the shooting of brumbies, which has garnered more than 200,000 signatures.
“Brumbies hold significant cultural and social value for most Australians. Today’s wild-living brumbies are bloodline descendants of war horses,” the petition states.
“Brumbies have featured in books and film. Who hasn’t read The Silver Brumby or The Man From Snowy River or seen the film?
“We must find ways to respectfully conserve surviving wild-living mobs of brumbies, failing which we tear down not only innocent sentient creatures but the connection our Light Horsemen had with brumbies.”
The NSW Government states that while culling efforts have reduced the numbers of wild animals at Kosciuszko National Park, some 3000 to 4000 animals remain.
“Feral horse numbers in the park are finally trending downward. No one likes to see animals killed but this is the tough decision we have to make to protect our wildlife,” NSW National Parks Association CEO Gary Dunnett said.
“We’re already seeing early signs of ecological recovery – but unless this law is repealed we will still have over 3000 horses trashing one third of the national park. Now is the time to finish the job.”
