A PLAN to cull brumbies from the Barmah National Park continues to be a serious sore point for locals and those passionate about maintaining a population of the horses in the wild.
The issue is not without its political dimension, too.
Last Thursday, Victorian shadow minister for the environment and climate change, Bridget Vallence, visited the park and claimed the State Government was failing local communities with its plan of total eradication.
Parks Victoria manages the park in conjunction with traditional owners, the Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation, which have expressed concern over the decline of Moira Grass in the forest.
“Parks Victoria has an obligation to control invasive species in Victoria’s national parks, including feral horses,” Parks Victoria regional director, Daniel McLaughlin, said.
“The aim of the current Strategic Action Plan is to reduce horse numbers down to 100 horses by 2024, then to progressively remove the remaining horses.”
The population of horses, which Parks Victoria calls feral, and supporters call brumbies, numbers between about 250 to more than 500, depending on who you ask.
Their history in the park is also disputed, with advocates claiming a population of brumbies has called the forest home for about 160 years, while Parks Victoria claims their lineage can be traced to escapee horses from local farms in the 1950s.
“Brumbies have been here for 160 years and been a part of the forest and been synonymous with the forest,” Ms Vallence said last Thursday.
“They’ve been a part of our national heritage and we think the Labor Government wanting to slaughter the brumbies is not right.”
The Barmah Brumby Preservation Group, led by president, Julie Pridmore, estimates about 250 horses live in the park and wants population of between 100-120 maintained.
