Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has defended a decision to cull feral horses that are causing ecological damage to Victoria’s fragile Alpine ecosystems, as protesters campaigning against the planned shooting amassed on the steps of state parliament.
Parks Victoria plans to remove 500 horses from the eastern Alpine region this year as part of a feral horse management plan that includes the eventual removal of all horses from Barmah national park on the Murray River and from the Bogong high plains.
The protest comes a month after Parks Victoria issued a tender for feral animal control in alpine areas, for the ground shooting of “deer, feral pigs, goats, foxes and other species.” Jill Pickering, the president of the Australian Brumby Alliance, says she believes the other species will include horses.
