Fact – The number of walking tracts are still increasing, such as Parks Victoria’s Falls to Hotham walk which is 38.5 kms long and includes building ecological, serviced style places to stay and regular restock supply depots to attract more Australian and overseas tourists.
See Parks Victoria “Falls to Hotham Apline Crossing” page : https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/alpine-national-park/things-to-do/falls-to-hotham-alpine-crossing]
Fact – 175,000 to 1 million Sambar Deer live in the Victorian Alps alone according to PV news reports from 2 years ago. Because deer are nocturnal and very shy they are rarely seen, but Wild Horses stand out for a long way and do not rush for cover, leaving an impression that there are far more horses than deer. So, with 175,000 to 1 Million Sambar deer vs 2,350 Brumbies in the Victorian Alps, that equates to 320-426 Sambar Deer to one Brumby, or Brumbies <1% of the Victorian Alps Samba deer populations.
See ABC post:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-31/deer-hunters-cull-sambar-deer-in-alpine-national-park/8396774
and
see The Age post (6 Oct 2018)
Quote –“ Runoff during storms and floods especially in parks downstream of pastures and residential areas, was potentially much greater than anything that occurred during the anthropogenic disturbances captured during the 2011 study”
Redfearn, Sally-Anne, et al., 2011, Detecting stream health impacts of horse riding and 4WD vehicle water crossings in South East Queensland: and event based assessment, Griffiths University October 2011: https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/qorf-media/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/31110526/HORSE_Stream_health_impacts_from_horse_crossings.pdf
Quote – The aquatic ecosystem in the catchment of the Snowy River in NSW has been significantly altered by river regulation and diversion, habitat modification, land use practices and the introduction of pest and weed species. Many aquatic habitats are now degraded, and many native species have experienced substantial declines in their numbers and distribution – some to the point where they are now listed as threatened.
(see Introduction in NSWDPI Fact Sheet Endangered Ecological Communities of the Snowy River Catchment in NSW: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/434259/Endangered-ecological-community-of-the-snowy-river-catchment-in-NSW.pdf
Quote – Adda Quinn (2001) researched the potential risks of horse manure, and concluded: “The chemical constituents of horse manure are not toxic to humans. Horse guts do not contain significant levels of two waterborne pathogens of greatest concern to human health risk, Cryptosporidium or Giardia, neither do they contain significant amounts of the bacteria E. coli 0157:H7 or Salmonella”.
See Quinn (1998) DOES HORSE MANURE POSE A SIGNIFICANT RISK TO HUMAN HEALTH? https://www.bayequest.com/static/pdf/manure.pdf
