Tuesday, 17 October 2023

Wild horse control

Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (21:53): (506) My adjournment matter is for the new Minister for Environment in the other place, and the action I seek is for him to halt brumby killing in order to undertake an independent population count. So often our immediate response is to control what we do not understand through eradication. We forget how situations began and in turn we forget our moral responsibility to find a kinder solution. Almost always we choose efficiency and ignore suffering. This is either intensified or relaxed depending on our relationship with or perception of a certain species. We all have a responsibility to protect and enrich our environment without the use of violence, and this is the message we must consistently send. Put simply, we owe it to animals to do better and work harder. Whilst adult brumbies do not have any natural predators, populations are threatened by drought, food scarcity, parasites and humans with guns and poison, with very few wild horses reaching their maximum life span of 20 years old. Like the horses we keep as companions, brumbies are intelligent and social creatures with a strong awareness of their surroundings. Through the 180 years that horses have been present on Australian mountains, they have adapted as a species to their environment and vice versa.

Where environmental degradation from brumbies is demonstrated, non-lethal control measures should be implemented. It is evident that much more research is needed in this space by the government. For small groups of brumbies posing minimal threat to natural systems, management through rehoming, not killing, should be reconsidered. The current kill campaigns in Victoria and across the border impose horrific suffering on these animals by implementing aerial shooting by helicopter or poisoning on the land. These methods have extremely cruel outcomes not only for the animals directly targeted but those who may endure injuries during efforts to escape.

Humane control of breeding has proven successful in wild horse and other species populations. Not only does it offer a humane alternative to lethal control, but it may also prove to be more effective than aerial shooting itself. Targets from helicopters are often missed, leading to unsuccessful culls, which allow populations to re-establish and waste taxpayer money. In larger populations of brumbies, fertility control should be considered in conjunction with the capture and rehoming of existing herds. Brumbies can be humanely captured and rehomed. Although experts have proven rehoming of wild brumbies to be successful, rehoming groups struggle to cover the costs associated with transport, feeding, gelding and vet bills. Rehoming services often rely on donations and adoption fees to continue their work, and the government must support them too. I look forward to working with all sides of this place together on an ethical solution that does not involve short-sighted killing and prolonged cruelty, and I hope the minister will action this request.