NSW Government ‘ignored’ post-fire panel advice on wild horses

The future of wild horses in the Australian Alpine region looks bleak after two government panels advised on their future, throwing aerial culling into the mix.

Reclaim Kosci, an offshoot of the conservationist group, the Invasive Species Council, claims the NSW Government ignored advice on feral horse removal in Kosciuszko National Park following the devastating bushfires of 2019-20.

Reclaim Kosci says documents obtained through NSW Freedom of Information laws paint a worrying picture of a government refusing to listen to the advice of its own wild horse scientific and community panels.

The two panels were formed in September 2019 by NSW Environment minister Matt Kean to inform a new Draft Kosciuszko National Park Horse Management Plan, which will determine the future of wild horse populations in the national park.

Each panel had convened twice before the 2019-20 fires of December and January resulted in damage to 231,000 hectares, or 33.5 per cent of the park.

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Article written by: EDWINA MASON