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Aug 163 min read

THE AUSTRALIAN ‘BRUMBY’ AT THE HEART OF MANY CONTROVERSIES



Nina Treguer -

 

On the 27th of October 2023, the local government of New South Wales in Australia agreed to ‘aerial culling’ of wild horses in the national park of Kosciusko. Aerial culling, shooting through the air of animals, is considered by the scientific community as the most humane and cost-effective method to reduce large populations over remote areas. Australia finally resorted to this drastic measure in order to efficiently manage the intensely growing horse population of the park. Estimates reveal the presence of 19 000 wild horses in Kosciusko out of 400 000 horses inhabiting the lands. However this announcement has led to the rise of multiple controversies after aerial culling has been banned for two decades in the region.


First of all, this decision has to be considered in the broader context of preserving the unique fauna and flora of  the island. Indeed, many scientific experts as well as Indigenous guides in the region regret the damage the horses did to the rare ecosystems and denounce the threat they represent to species such as the corroboree frog or the broad-toothed rat, found nowhere else. The first ethical debate that sparked then, concerns the notion of value humans placed on animals : a common farm animal against lesser known animals. Indeed, animal rights activists found themselves tied between the heartbreaking decision of killing more than a dozen thousand individuals (to reach the objective of 3000 horses by 2027) and the preservation of other animals which risk extinction. Moreover, the second debate which arose concerning the welfare of the horses concerns the means used to tackle the problem. Some hinted at other measures such as the deportation to sanctuaries or fertility management tactics. However, not only can those cannot be implemented at the scale needed, but the vast majority of horses are rarely ‘re-homed’. Most of the time they are transferred to slaughterhouses.  Nevertheless, horse activists voiced their worry about the real accuracy of the pilots onto which the tedious task will fall. 


Secondly, wild horses hold a special place in Australia's history and colonial legacy. Indeed, nicknamed “brumbies”, they are the descendants of the first horses that were imported from England by European settlers in 1788. More than that, they are the source of inspiration for many songs and poems – the poem The Man from Snowy River by Banjo Paterson was even adapted into a movie. The horses were even celebrated at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics Games of 2000.   Hence, if for some, especially ranchers, they are a national symbol, others see them as only an invasive specie, brought by colonial authorities in order to erase the cultural singularity of the territory they ‘conquered’. By letting them proliferate, the identity of Native Australia is once again threatened by colonialism. In an interview with the New York Times, a 60 year old rancher even declared that it was a “culture war”. This declaration reveals the underlying tensions that the announcement has provoked.


Last but not least, the argument of a matter of ‘environmental protection’ put forward by politicians might lead to criticism, especially as other projects, such as the one financed by Snowy Hydro also had huge environmental impacts. Furthermore, Kosciuszko National Park was the home of two aboriginal groups, the Walgalu people and the Ngarigo people, which might make us wonder if the management of the park by the national government is more effective and environmentally friendly than the populations living there traditionally. Following the same trajectory as the American Mustang, the divide and tensions elicited by the Australian Brumby are a perfect example of the long-term consequence of historical events which happened 200 years ago.


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