Scientists say Australian plan to cull up to 10,000 wild horses doesn’t go far enough

A fast-growing population of feral horses in an alpine national park needs to be substantially reduced in number, researchers argue.

The researchers believe that , The rapidly increasing number of wild horses in Gaoshan national park needs to be greatly reduced .

Up to 10,000 feral horses might be killed or removed from Australia’s largest alpine national park under a draft plan to control the rapidly growing population of non-native animals.

According to a draft plan to control the rapid growth of non-native animals , There are almost 10000 Wild horses may be killed or removed from Australia's largest alpine National Park .

Scientists have welcomed the idea of removing them, but are alarmed that the plan still allows for thousands to remain, threatening endangered species and habitats.

Scientists are more in favor of the idea of removing , But here's the thing , This method will still retain thousands of horses , Threat to endangered species and habitats .

The proposed cull, in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales (NSW), contrasts with a ban on lethal control measures in the United States, where large populations of wild horses known as mustangs also cause problems.

In new Wales Kosciuszko national park , The proposed phase out plan contrasts with the US ban on lethal measures , There, a large number of wild horses called wild horses also cause problems .？？？

The draft plan, released last month, recommends reducing the park’s population of wild horses, known in Australia as brumbies, from an estimated 14,000 to about 3,000 through a combination of mostly ground-based shooting, as well as rounding up and rehoming.

The draft plan issued last month , It is suggested to reduce the number of wild horses in the park , Wild horses in Australia , By hunting 、 Round up and return to the original habitat , The quantity ranges from about 14000 Reduced to 3000.

But the Australian Academy of Science argues that the number of horses should be rapidly reduced below 3,000.

But the Australian Academy of Sciences analyzed , The number of horses will soon drop to 3000 following .

In an open letter with 69 signatories including scientists and institutions sent to the NSW environment minister on Friday, they note that “alpine wetlands continue to degrade even with very small numbers of feral horses. Kosciusko cannot begin to recover from drought, extensive bushfires and overgrazing if, as currently proposed, 3,000 feral horses remain.”

In a letter sent to the environment department of new Wales on Friday containing 69 In an open letter signed by scientists and institutions , They pointed out that , Even if there are only a few wild horses , Alpine wetlands are also undergoing continuous degradation . If you follow the previous proposal , Retain 3000 A Mustang ,Kosciusko It's impossible to start from drought 、 Recovered from large-scale forest fires and overgrazing .

Capitulating to lobby groups

Capitalist lobby ？？？

Researchers say the draft plan capitulates to a small but vocal group that has lobbied the government to protect horses because of the animals’ heritage value.

Researchers say , The draft plan surrendered to a small but vocal group , The group lobbied the government to protect horses , Because the heritage of these animals is valuable .

The plan would allow the remaining brumbies to roam over one-third of the park.

The plan may allow the remaining Mustangs to roam a third of the park .

That would include threatened alpine sphagnum bogs and the habitats of endangered and vulnerable species such as a fish called the stocky galaxias (Galaxias tantangara), the alpine tree frog (Litoria verreauxii alpina) and the broad-toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus).

That will be affected, including Alpine peat swamps and, for example stocky galaxias、 Mountain tree frog and broad-toothed Threats to the habits of endangered and vulnerable species, including rats .

Australia has no native mammals with hard hooves, and so horses do more damage to delicate vegetation and soils than soft-footed species, such as kangaroos and wallabies, as well as creating problems through over-grazing.

Australian mammals have no hard hooves , So these horses do more damage to fragile plants and soil than soft footed animals , Like kangaroo 、 Little kangaroo , At the same time, it will also bring new problems due to overgrazing .

David Watson, an ecologist at Charles Sturt University in Albury–Wodonga — which straddles NSW and the neighbouring state of Victoria — says the NSW government “couldn’t have picked a worse place” to allow feral horses to roam. He makes the point that Australia’s alpine environment covers just 1% of the continent and has many endemic and threatened species that are found nowhere else.

David Watson say , It is impossible for the new Wales Government to choose a poor place to let these horses wander . He pointed out that , Australia's alpine environment covers only 1% The European continent , There are many places without endemic and species threats .

“These areas are just too fragile to have large herbivores trampling around in them,” adds Don Driscoll, an ecologist at Deakin University in Melbourne.

These areas are too fragile , Can't stand the trampling of large herbivores .

Management of feral horses has been a long-running issue in Australia’s mountainous alpine region, which extends across three states.

The management of wild horses has become a long-term problem in Australia's mountainous mountainous areas , It even extends to three states .

The Australian Capital Territory, which shares a border with Kosciuszko National Park, has a zero-tolerance approach to feral horses and uses methods including aerial shooting.

Australian Capital Territory and Kosciuszko The National Park borders on , Zero tolerance for wild horses , And adopted methods including aerial shooting .

Victoria also shares an alpine border with New South Wales, but its latest management plan, released on 1 November, recommends using culling and other measures to remove all feral horses in the most delicate alpine environments, and the steady reduction of numbers elsewhere.

Victoria It also borders the mountains of new Wales , But it is in 11 month 1 In the latest management measures released on the No , It is recommended to use elimination and other methods to remove all wild horses in the most vulnerable alpine environment , And steadily reduce the number of other regions .

Brumbies and mustangs

The NSW state government had previously tried to control the brumbies by rehoming them on private land, but was never able to find a place for more than a few hundred horses a year, rehoming only about 1,000 since 2002.

The new Wales Government has previously tried to control them by returning them to their original habitat brumbies, But you can't find a place that can hold more than hundreds of horses a year , from 2002 Since then , The only thing that comes back is 1000 horse .

Jamie Pittock, an environmental scientist at the Australian National University in Canberra, says that the government’s acknowledgement that the exponentially growing population cannot be managed with rehoming alone is at least “a step forward”.

Jamie Pittock say , The government acknowledges that compared with the number growing exponentially , Repatriation is not enough , But at least a step forward .

But Watson says that 3,000 horses would breed rapidly enough that 1,000 would still need to be removed or killed every few years, meaning that even a small population will create a continuing headache in terms of damage to the park and removal requirements.

however ,Watson say ,3000 Horses may breed quickly , Every few years 1000 The horse needs to be removed or killed , This means that even a small number can continue to be a headache in terms of damage to the park and relocation .

A spokesperson for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service said the proposed target of 3,000 horses would maintain the “environmental values of the park” and that removing horses from two-thirds of the park would provide “effective protection” for threatened species. They did not respond to Nature’s specific questions about scientists’ criticisms of the draft plan.

XXXX A spokesman for said , Proposed 3000 The horse's goal will remain “ The environmental value of the park ” And two thirds of the horses removed from the park will provide effective protection for threatened species . They didn't answer Nature Specific questions about scientists' criticism of the draft plan .

The United States is grappling with similar issues with mustangs in national parks, says ecosystem scientist John Derek Scasta at the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

The United States is dealing with a similar Mustang problem in national parks , economists John Derek say .

“The goal is to get within an agreed-upon number of horses that are sustainable,” he says, but not everybody agrees on what that number is.

The goal is to get a sustainable number of Mustangs , He said , But not everyone agrees with that number .

Because legislation bans culling, the US Bureau of Land Management instead relies on rounding up, sterilization, rehoming or paying to keep the horses on either private or federal holdings.

Because the law prohibits ,US The BLM relies on round ups 、 sterilization 、 Repatriate or pay for these horses to private territory or federal control .

But Scasta says rising numbers, and the costs of looking after them, might mean the United States has to face its own reckoning with wild horses in the not-too-distant future.

however Scasta say , Rising numbers 、 The cost of care , It may mean that the United States must face the Mustang problem brought by itself in the near future .