By Stephanie Holliday
A HELICOPTER dropped large round bales of hay last week to starving brumbies and other wildlife, trapped on an island surrounded by flood water.
After inaction from the RSPCA and government authorities, volunteers from the Barmah Brumby Preservation Group took the initiative to organise and pay for the feed, fuel and use of the helicopter to deliver the much-needed sustenance to animals stranded on islands created by flooding, in the Barmah National Park, north-east of Echuca.
An amazing win for the group and the Brumbies also came to fruition late last week, with the Incident Command Centre (ICC) taking control of the starvation incident, after a complaint was lodged by the group.
The ICC have committed to feeding stranded Brumbies, kangaroos and wallabies. They have instructed Parks Victoria to commence feeding these animals.
It has been confirmed that upon veterinary instruction, 60 round bales of hay a week will be airlifted onto the island for as long as flooding continues.
“It was so important to save these animals as they may be the last remaining herd of Brumbies in the Park. It was also crucial because we will not accept cruelty in any fashion, whether it be to native or introduced animals. Cruelty by starvation is unacceptable,” said group vice president, Murray Willaton.
“Our work is only just starting as Parks Vic now state they want to work with us, and these horses may well end up living on our sanctuary. I cannot stress how momentous this is. Thank you to everyone that has worked so hard to save the Brumbies.
“If it not for our action and efforts to feed the Brumbies in the first instance, the consequences would have been dire. It also shed light on the absolute inaction from anyone else to stop the inhumane treatment of these animals, which has now resulted in a brilliant win.”
