Aerial shooting of horses in the Kosciuszko National Park is set to recommence following an announcement from the NSW Environment Minister that horse numbers in the park must be rapidly reduced to protect cultural and environmental values. 82% of the 11 thousand submissions made during the public consultation supported the reintroduction of aerial shooting as a management option for feral horses in the Kosciuszko National Park.
Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment Sue Higginson said “The announcement today is rolling back the destructive and unscientific policies of the former Government that prevented National Parks and Wildlife from protecting Kosciuszko National Park from feral horses,”
“When it comes to National Parks and the protected area network, every management option for feral species control should be available and that includes aerial shooting as the most humane and most effective horse control mechanism,”
“We took a towards-zero horses in the Kosciuszko National Park commitment to the election and we maintain that there should be no tolerance for an established invasive species population in any protected area,”
“If the NSW Government is serious about protecting the places we love, the Heritage Horse Act, that mandates a certain population of horses in the National Park, must be repealed. It is the only example in Australia where an invasive species is lawfully endorsed to be in a National Park, an unacceptable situation that should be resolved,”
“Aerial shooting of horses is not a cause for happiness or celebration, but it is necessary to protect threatened native species from extinction, First Nations cultural heritage, and the unique Australian Alpine ecology. The NSW Government is doing the right thing by allowing the National Parks and Wildlife Service to do their job and take actions necessary to control feral horse populations,” Ms Higginson said.
