This method had not been used for twenty-three years. Local authorities in New Wales have approved the helicopter-based culling of wild horses in Australia’s Kosciuszko National Park. Defenders of this measure consider it necessary to regulate “brumbies”, considered “pests”. Their opponents denounce a future massacre against a species that is part of the country’s “national identity”.
Nearly 19,000 wild horses such as “brumbies” live in this national park located in the south-east of the country. New South Wales state authorities now want to reduce this number to 3,000 by mid-2027. That’s a killing of 16,000 equines.
Are wild horses pests?
If park officials already eliminate wild horses, on the ground, with firearms or with traps, these measures would no longer be sufficient. Authorities consider brumbies to be nuisance animals because they increase soil erosion, destroy vegetation through grazing and trampling, and cause burrows to collapse.
The helicopter slaughter method was therefore reauthorized. It was used briefly in 2000 when more than 600 wild horses were slaughtered in three days. At the time, local authorities backed down in the face of public outrage.
Once again, voices are being raised to oppose the killing of these animals. On social networks, with the hashtag #SaveTheBrumbies, thousands of Australians are speaking out to defend them. Their defenders explain, among other things, that these horses are part of “Australian national identity” and recall their history.
Watch the full video at the top of this article to learn about the origin of “Brumbies” and see this slaughtering technique from helicopters.