The NSW Government is seeking feedback on a proposed amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan. The proposed amendment would allow aerial shooting as an additional option for the control of wild horses alongside the existing methods such as trapping and rehoming, and ground shooting.
Kosciuszko National Park's ecosystems are under threat. There is widespread recognition of the urgent need to reduce numbers of wild horses to protect more than 30 native threatened species.
These include the critically endangered southern and northern corroboree frogs, the endangered mountain pygmy possum, the endangered Guthega skink and she-oak skink, the vulnerable broad-toothed rat, the critically endangered Kelton's leek orchid and blue-tongued greenhood, and the critically endangered fish stocky galaxias. Wild horses also erode and compact soil and reduce water quality in streams and wetlands.
Under the current Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan, the NSW Government is legally required to reduce the wild horse population to 3,000 in 32% of the park by 30 June 2027. However, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service will not be able to meet that target using only the existing control methods.
The most recent count of wild horses in the park using global best practice and peer-reviewed methodology estimated there are between 14,501 and 23,535 horses across the park.
The ability to conduct aerial shooting as a control method, consistent with the highest animal welfare standards, could be an important addition to current techniques to reduce the wild horse population.
The community is encouraged to provide input on the proposed amendment until 11 September 2023.
A final decision will not be made until all feedback has been considered.
