Professor Chris Pollitt has been coming to the outback to study them for more than a decade. He is the David Attenborough of brumbies.
"To fly over this country in helicopters and see individual bands of horses moving across the county is an experience for me that takes me back to the evolution of the horse, the way it was millions of years ago," he said.
From up here, the athleticism of the horses is evident, but it's their ability to survive that really fascinates Professor Pollitt — their endurance and ability to cope with extremes in temperature, in an often harsh environment.
As Professor of Equine Medicine at the University of Queensland, he spearheaded the Australian Brumby Research Unit.
But what is certain, is that their numbers are growing and it's causing problems.
"The conundrum is we love the horse, we love to see it in its wild state, its fully evolved state, thriving in its natural environment we love to see that," he said.
But we know this is Australia and it's not their natural environment, so we have to make some compromises.
Down at a waterhole surrounded by desert oaks and eucalypts, Professor Pollitt waits behind green hessian cloth strung between two trees.
Soon, hooves can be heard.
"Everybody thinks of a herd of horses, but that doesn't exist," he said.
"Horses only live in bands.
"Once the band is established all the mares are loyal to that stallion and that stallion is loyal to all of the mares. It's a really special thing to see."
'Life hangs but for a thread'
They call him "The Prof" — mild mannered and softly spoken under his broad brimmed hat.
But when he sees brumbies he becomes energised, passionate to share his knowledge.
So he started brumby week — a chance for horse-loving adventurers to see the wild horses in their equally untamed environment.
They come from all over the country — and from as far away as the United Kingdom and Germany — to join "The Prof" on the week-long adventure.
In the stockyards of Kings Creek Station — a working cattle and camel property about 300 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs — tourists are taught how to break the wild animals in.
For some, like Penny Richards from Orange in NSW, it's been a life-long dream — and now she is taking one of the wild horses back home.
It's a really emotional thing to see a horse turn from this wild, crazy, untrusting animal to something that just gives to you," she said.
"I think after the second day of working with her I couldn't think of ever re-releasing her.
"I couldn't think of her ever having to go back to being hungry and being thirsty and having to have foal, after foal, after foal and stallions fighting over her."
Among the group are Brisbane psychiatrist Jennifer Gunn and her sister Helen Bowie, from Cairns.
Jennifer has been riding horses for years, Helen is along for the laughs and to learn.
"This is really important," Jennifer, the older sister, said. "This is our time."
The sisters made a pact to take a holiday together once a year — a promise made more important after Jennifer was diagnosed with lymphoma 12 months ago.
She is now cancer-free, and, after this week, has ticked another experience off her bucket list.
"Life hangs but for a thread," Jennifer said. "It is important to have that realisation. Not to be scared of it but to live it, and that's what we're going to do."
'They trample the ground, cause erosion'
Inside the stockyards at Kings Creek, renowned horse trainer Brian Hampson has captured a handful of young horses from the thousands that roam nearby plains.
He lets one through to the round yard. It's frisky and frightened.
With a flag attached to the end of a stick, Dr Hampson talks through how he's communicating with the horse, to break it in.
"I love having brumbies out here. I wouldn't like to come out to the desert environment and not see horses. But there's just too many of them," he said.
"They trample the ground, cause erosion.
They eat every bit of grass in that valley by the end of the long winter time (it) just changes the ecology of the valley forever.
Wildlife ecologist David Berman completed his PhD in the area30 years ago and has seen how it's changed.
The land around waterholes is bare, native pastures eaten out across the plains.
"There are no predators that will help keep the numbers down. So just about every population of horses in Australia will be gradually increasing at somewhere between 7 and 20 per cent per year," Dr Berman said.
Three years ago, about 8,000 brumbies were culled from a nearby property.
Culling is a controversial but effective method of keeping numbers down.
A recent plan by the NSW Government to cull the animals in the Kosciuszko National Park, which it backflipped on in May after a public outcry, just highlights the emotional debate around the animals.
Rehoming, as is done on Kings Creek, is one small way of reducing numbers. Another option is setting up dedicated reserves, and there's also sterilisation.
But that's seen as impractical because of the vast area the brumbies inhabit.
Culling's not the only answer," Dr Berman said. "You need all these options and you need to judge which options to use in the different situations."
Ian Conway, the owner and manager of Kings Creek Station, said many Aboriginal people in the area were opposed to culling — they see it as horses being destroyed for no reason.
"When the cull was on they really didn't want them shot, and they discovered horses dead everywhere and they were very upset about it," he said.
"I actually travelled with some old Indigenous fellas in this area like the traditional owners of this region and they see any animal alive like that as should be left alive."
Mr Conway said he would rather see the feral horses shipped to slaughterhouses for meat as an enterprise for Indigenous people rather than shot and left to waste.
Despite dedicating much of his life to studying the wild animals, for "The Prof" there are no easy answers.
"The dilemma is if you do nothing," he said.
"If you let the animals breed up and then severe droughts come as they must in this central Australian environment, you're going to be faced with horses starving to death and dying of thirst.
"That is a horrible thing to see."
Watch the story on the ABC's 7.30 program tonight.
Sadly the reality is that horses, donkeys & camels aren't native to this country & therefore thrive in the good times with no apex predator to keep their numbers at a sustainable level
Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
Yesterday's
events and although horrendously tragic, out of the video has come an
enormous outcry of support and worldwide awareness. As a result Ch 9
Melbourne contacted Murray today and we've just finished up a 3 hour
session of talks and interviews. We're feeling like this is going to be a
bit of a step up and speak up against the authorities Parks rspca
Goulburn catchment authority. It's on tonight at 6pm ch 9 . I asked the crew about how do media figure out what posts are getting the hits.
I was told you need to play the news video and if you watch it 100
times it counts as a hit every time . You don't have to watch the whole
story thru just so it plays a bit. Sharing commenting and likes help but media look at how many times it's watched.
Thank you beautiful mare as you're a big part of sending the message
out. We will not forget your bubs we will feed him or her until it's all
fixed and you can live on. 🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎
Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
Wild brumbies in Central Victoria are facing a grim
reality with heavily decreased grazing land leaving many with nothing
to eat.
The unusual combination of drought
conditions and environmental flooding has left more than 150 brumbies in
the Barmah National Park north-east of Echuca in dire condition.
Local
residents say that Parks Victoria are failing to address the ongoing
problem, implementing a management plan they say consists of delaying
action long enough that the brumbies health becomes so poor they can
then shoot them on sight.
Their bodies are left to rot.
The
Barmah Brumby Preservation Group, made up of concerned local residents,
are currently rendering on-ground support for the starving and sick
horses.
The groups Facebook page presents a horrific collection of images and videos of horses on the brink of starvation.
Mark
Norman, chief conservation scientist, Parks Victoria, said he
understood people’s concerns however regulations prevent the feeding of,
or interference with, animals in National Parks.
“Parks Victoria is responding to incidences of
malnourished feral horses and receiving advice and assistance from RSPCA
Victoria regarding the welfare of the animals,” Mr Norman said.
Volunteer
groups report lengthy response times by Parks Victoria, leaving
community members to comfort the dying animals while they await someone
legally allowed to euthanise the animal.
Parks officers have been actively checking volunteers are adhering to the no feeding in the Park rule.
Barmah resident Kaye Moor said at least 26 brumbies and foals have died since the start of November.
Six foals have been rescued and sent to Hoofs2010 – a charity working to save and promote Australian bush horses.
The group has established a Go-Fund me page to raise funds for ground support, aiming to raise $25,000.
In a statement to 9News.com.au, Parks Victoria
Chief Conservation Scientist Dr Mark Norman said patrols are conducted
“twice a day across the park”.
“With support
from a team of regional equine vets, as well as responding to public
notifications of distressed horses,” Dr Norman said.
“Those
in very poor condition are being humanely put down on the spot. To date
we have euthanised 18 horses. We will continue to monitor and review
the situation.”
Twice a day across the park ?? What a load of crap. Talk to the locals on the ground to find out exactly how big a load of crap it is. And meanwhile NSW plan to aerial shoot the Singleton Brumbies a week before Christmas. Aerial shooting is illegal in NSW but they are on defence force land , so it seems its not illegal there. If anyone doesnt have any idea how horrific aerial shooting of horses is , check out the mass slaughter in Guy Fawkes NP .
Whats even sadder they thought they would sneak it by and no one would know,,,,they think we are all callous fools. RSPCA are useless.
OMG the way we allow our wild horses to be treated is nothing short of disgraceful.
Hi
everyone, Well is this a busy time! This has exploded.. This
has happened because all you guys have been waging a battle for 5 years
and never wavered. All of the work we have done has added up and the
straw has finally broke the camels back.
We have a long way to go, but this has turned. The support we are receiving is huge.
The racing industries both thoroughbred and pacing have come on board
big time. We are about to receive some truck loads of hay which have been donated.
I also had a great conversation with the owner of one of the biggest
international thoroughbred studs in the world and they are on board big
time. Word has got out, The racing industries are disgusted seeing
this cruelty to horses. They are spreading the word to all of their
associates.
We are also receiving legal advice.
I
understand that it is frustrating to hear Parks Victoria's deceptive
comments in the media. We were always going to have to battle the
governments twist on things. That's fine we are getting the truth
out there and will prevail.
Keep the social media and media
pressure up. Even though it seems to be a frustrating process dealing
with this, The wheel is turning.
We just need to keep winning little battles to finally win the war.
Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
I just wanted to update you as to the situation with the proposed aerial cull on Tuesday of the Singleton Brumbies.
There
has been an overwhelming support from the public, media, social media
and animal welfare lobby groups and it has gone all the way to the top
and is now in the hands of Defense Minister Christopher Pyne. There are
unconfirmed reports that there is a briefing on Monday.
NBN
News were here to film this morning and this could possibly go regional
- from the Central Coast to the Gold Coast and further western NSW so
tune in tonight and we will post a link to the story on our facebook
page.
I would like to think that Minister Pyne
would not want this on his hands this Christmas and coming in to an
election, but anything is possible.
Thankyou for all of your support and fingers crossed for some good news next week.
Myself and Salts Wyuna
went out this morning to search for the missing mare we were feeding.
Parks Victoria knew we were feeding her, Her yearling son and some
mates. Parks Victoria had the gelatis on so they installed the
camouflaged camera to catch us. Well Thursday they went out and shot
that mare whilst standing next to lucerne. They shot her in the hip
and then she crashed thru the bush over 120 metres until they put her
out of her Man made suffering. This is vindictive, they knew she was
being fed and was improving. The way this mare was put down is also
disgraceful.
Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
If you dare to question NPWS people , they always tell you they employ "expert marksmen ". If that, and mnay other shot horses taken out by their marksmen, is an expert shot, I will eat my hat. There is just no need for this cruel and spiteful action.
This afternoon we have some sad news, it seems Defense Minister
Christopher Pyne and other power that be have no respect for animal
welfare or the voting public and they have decided in talks today that
the aerial cull at Singleton will still go ahead.
This is devastating news and hard to fathom that someone would sign off on it coming in to an election.
Please
note there will be no protest at the base, it is not fair to target
people that work there (there will be minimal staff anyway) and they do
care about the horses.
They will be culling from tomorrow until the 14th January.
If you wish to voice your concerns about this decision please contact Minister Pyne
I am also urging DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ENTER THE ARMY RANGE, it is very dangerous and illegal.
I
am urging local residents to make contact me is they see or hear
culling activities and I will also be driving around the public roads
bordering the base to check for injured horses during this time.
If you have any questions, please just get in touch
Thankyou
Kathryn Massey President Hunter Valley Brumby Association Inc
Slightly off topic, but today 5 dogs were found dumped in bushland not far from here. They had an open bag of food and no water ( and its stinkin' hot here .) Its believed there are 2 more there some where . One is pregnant and another one has not long given birth, but no pups with her.
What are these neanderthal people doing ? I think they will track down the owner, but when they do, nothing will happen to them, which really riles me up. Animal cruelty laws are a sick joke.
They were to start shooting yesterday, but they didnt. Please keep the pressure on Mr Pyne, who wont even talk to media at all, instead issueing a written statement, saying, in one point of justification, that the horses are destroying the environment. HELLO ! This is an army bombing/shooting base, so he is saying horses feet do more damage to the ground than bombs ??? And they are a danger to personell ?? More danger than bombs and guns ?
Go to Hunter Valley Brumby Ass facebook page and listen to Kath,s interview with 2GB. She tells it like it is, and spells out how useless the RSPCA head honcho is.
I always do Macca. I support the charity that goes out and looks for and helps injured and burned wild life. Its horrific.
The bugga about this shooting is its on DOD land so no one can see or monitor whats going on,,not even send up a drone.
Also the brumby and animal rescuse groups wanted to sit down and work out a better way than aerial shooting. ( Which is illegal in NSW. Isnt Singleton in NSW ), But Mr Pyne ( from S.A. ) wasnt interested in NSW people,s views . In fact he refuses to speak to media at all. Arrogant man.
God, they are trucking out the bodies,,,,alive or dead we dont know, in containers like you use for grain. So no one can see or know.
If ever some one gets footage of whats going on , all hell will break loose. And some one will, sooner or later. The locals are all on side.
I still love Mr Pyne,s statement ( on paper, no fronting the media in person ) about how the horse are causing environmental damage,,,,on an army bombing range. What the F ??
You can hide away Mr Pyne, but we know who you are, and there are many thousands out here who will be voting with our fingers against you and your party.
What is the humane way to cull a wild animal? I understand the distress of everyone having to witness this but I’ll admit to being on the fence as far as aerial shooting goes. I had a horrible experience when I was a kid watching a truck load of brumbies go through the sales. It really was horrific to watch. They’d caught these horses , put them in a cattle truck and sent them off. The poor things were shaking with terror and totally traumatised. Everything single one went to the doggers anyway and I remember thinking at the time surely it’s better to shoot them running free on their own country rather than put them through that trauma? I don’t know , it’s an awful dilemma .
Mustering them up to a yard and one expert shot will do it, or the green dream, much better than chasing them and taking pot shots from the air thru rough and timbered country.
Some of the aerial shot ones in Guy Fawkes were still walking with 6 to 8 shots all over them. One mare was dropped and gave birth as she lay dying. There were some dreadful sights in G.F. after the choppers left, but people couldnt be kept from seeing what had been done as its a national park, so local horsemen rode in and had to finish off many horses lying there still alive. Of course the old line about " expert marksmen " was trotted out.
No one knows whats happening at Singleton, as its restricted land, and many mares have foals at foot.
I do agree with you re them being trucked to sale yards. Its almost as bad. But a lot could be learned from the way the New Zealand Army Base brumbies are managed. I cant spell the name of the place , but its something like Kaimawai,,,its in the north island, no shooting there , just lots of common sense and humane management.
We certainly have to manage the brumbies. People forget that in the Banjo Patterson/ Man from Snowy River days the wild horses were managed. They used to round them up and take the younger ones to be broken in. People made a living that way back then. There was also a constant infusion of new blood. The most important line in The Man from Snowy River is “ The colt from Old Regret had got away” . This happened all the time. Leaving these horses with no population control is just cruel because they over graze the place and end up starving. Also with no new blood they get inbred . Maybe we should look at how the poms do it with their New Forest ponies . Anything is better than what we have now!
Correct spelling of the NZ Brumby Base is Kaimanawa . The way they are managed should be adopted here. Yes, the Singo horses were terribly inbred. The adults couldnt be tamed but orphan foals raised by hand are just like any other horse. There are, or were , only about 150 of them. Its not the culling,,its the way they have gone about it. They kept it a secret that only leaked out a week before they were due to shoot. Local pollies, brumby groups and animal welfare groups ask for a meeting to sort out a better way but Mr Pyne and his deputy flatly refused. In fact Mr Pyne refused to speak to media and has even left the country ! Apart from the fact aerial shooting was made illegal after Guy Fawkes, but he signed off on it anyway ???
Many other countries manage their wild horses, so why cant Australia ?
Barmah Forest’s brumby crisis has
started to tear the heart out of Australia with the release of a
devastating video of a mare dying, collapsing to the ground and still
calling for her foal.
The post has gone viral and sparked a public backlash against Parks Victoria’s management of the brumbies.
The post is just one of many on the Barmah Brumby Preservation Group
Facebook page highlighting the distressing plight of the horses that
have called Barmah Forest home for the past 180 years.
BBPG president Murray Willaton said Parks Victoria was not interested
in using even the most basic humanity to avert the deteriorating
crisis, and horses — adults and foals — were now dead or dying in big
numbers.
Mr Willaton referred to the park as a giant ‘‘animal cemetery’’ and
estimated at least 100 horses had perished and been left to rot in
floodwater or just off bush tracks.
It is illegal to feed them within the park boundary.
Despite rapidly increasing public pressure, Parks Victoria was
continuing to stand by its current management plan of shooting the
brumbies only when their body score gets below 1.5 and placing signs
throughout the forest reiterating it is illegal to feed horses in the
park. You & I would be prosecuted for not feeding any animal untill a 1.5 body score was reached
Parks Victoria itself appears to be unsure of the actual number of brumbies in the park.
In the past week it has issued statements ranging from 400 to 600
(based on thermal imaging over a small area and averaging it across the
park) — a figure that varies significantly from the BBPG estimate of
about 180 before this tragedy struck.
‘‘The feeding of native or introduced animals is not supported under
either legislation or parks regulations as this can interfere with their
ability to forage on their own and creates a dependence on human
intervention,’’ a Parks Victoria spokesman said.
Some members of the BBPG take matters into their own hands and feed the brumbies on private property adjacent to the park.
Mr Willaton said as distressing as the post of the mare was, it had
helped highlight the current plight of the Barmah brumbies and, as a
result, the group had received support from across the country and
overseas.
‘‘The racing sector has jumped on board now and some leading trainers
and horse owners have made donations of hay and cash; the increased
media exposure has really helped,’’ Mr Willaton said.
The group has also been seeking legal advice.
‘‘We are of the belief the prevention of cruelty to animals act,
which states the welfare of animals comes first, allows us to feed the
brumbies,’’ Murray said.
‘‘We are not renegades who want to break the law, we just want to see an end to this callous cruelty.’’
Environmental flooding has inundated the majority of the 28500ha park
and there does not appear to be an end in sight, as more flooding is
forecast from rising river levels from recent rains, due to arrive in
the next few weeks.
‘‘We are concerned floodwater from the Ovens and King rivers flowing
into the Murray will contribute to further flooding. We need the
Murray-Darling Basin Authority to turn the taps off and stop flooding
the bush,’’ Mr Willaton said.
We are currently feeding approximately 90 brumbies on private land.
Those brumbies have improved immensely. They come and go from the
forest and contrary to Parks Victoria's and the RSPCA's excuse for not
feeding them, They have not changed their behaviour and they are
still wild.
We are still waiting for the Minister Lily D'Abrosio to respond to our solicitors letter.
We are currently pushing hard for an urgent meeting with Lily to get to the bottom of this.
We are about to meet with the RSPCA to strongly discuss their absolute
refusal to investigate and prosecute cruelty in this matter.
So
the RSPCA have been informed that there was aggravated cruelty being
committed by Parks Victoria. Their response was to believe everything
that Parks Victoria told them, And then to appease them, They
release a policy based on the possible offender's lies. Professional
investigation doesn't work that way.
Thankfully they have
rescinded that policy. We will be strenuously pushing that they do
not release anymore policies regarding the Barmah brumbies unless they
speak to our group and actually hear the truth before making any more
decisions.
We are now in the transition from a cruelty disaster
to response to recovery. We have lost 65 brumbies. Those brumbies
have been photographed, Videod, Hair pulled for DNA, And included
on our map. How many more we find in the inaccessible areas who
knows. I assume we will easily end up with a total exceeding 100
deceased brumbies. Imagine how many we would have had deceased if
we didn't feed the 90?
We have been criticised in some
circles for feeding these horses. Rubbish like 'they are wild
animals and this should be the survival of the fittest. Let's be
clear if we hadn't of fed them we would definately have exceeded 200
brumbies deceased and would not have had a viable herd left. A lot
of the fittest would have died as well. This is just an
excuse for people to do nothing . Thankfully some people stepped up
to the mark and responded. A suspicious person could assume that
this is the cull that Parks Victoria have always wanted.
We as a
group are now moving forward, Working diligently on the future of the
brumbies in Barmah. We are trying not to be bogged down with
cruelty, Water, Fish Kills, EPA etc.
Now we are
reading in the media via Parks Victoria and the RSPCA that a long term
management plan for the brumbies in barmah will be completed and then
released to the public for consultation. Parks Victoria have clearly
been told by the General public that people wish to have a healthy
sustainable herd of Barmah Brumbies in the Barmah National Park.
There has been enough consultation. Parks Victoria stop with this
endless consultation, Accept the wish of the public. This is
like the person who keeps asking the same question to multiple people
until they get the answer they want. It's petulant behaviour,
Let's just get on with it.
We have searched this forest very
methodically and we are sure that there is no more than 180 brumbies
left. Parks Victoria, Let's recognise the brumbies heritage
value, Protect them in legislation and manage them professionally
Let's get a proper full count done and release the details, Let's
stop flooding the forest with environmental water at the wrong time of
the year, And let's 'together' set up a professional management plan.
Let's put experienced horse people in charge of the management of
these horses for the future. Instead of horse inexperienced
Rangers and Managers who are clearly Anti Brumby.
Minister Lily D'Ambrosio, Let's get on with it. Show some leadership and meet with us.
Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
I see the feral control council of NSW ( i think thats what they are called ) are now spruiking they had such success shooting the Singleton horses they now want to push to do the same to the Kosi horses.
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