Anne TootillThe Australian Brumby
June 11th 2008 04:34
What is a brumby? A very broad definition.
The brumby is Australia's wild horse, descended from domestic horses imported into Australia to be used in the settlement, exploration and development of this country. The brumby is considered by many Australians, and a number of overseas people to be an Australian icon. Others feel that the brumby is a pest and needs eradicating.
How many brumbies live in Australia?
No one really knows. Their numbers run into the thousands, however numbers are declining rapidly. The major portion live in the Northern Territory, and the second largest portion live in north Queensland.
Australians are rather passionate about the wild Brumby as you can see by the following comments by Save the Brumbies Inc, an animal welfare charity dedicated to protecting wild horses in Australia. They encourage people to adopt a Brumbie. This is their message:
Welcome to my bright new world, says our Mascot Adam, a survivor of aerial slaughter.
Australia has many thousands of wild brumby horses. Slaughtered from air and ground and left to die; tiny foals perish of starvation without their dams.
This is the shameful attitude of the Australian Government; it is barbaric and cruel and the carnage continues.
The small percentage of horses that are trapped ‘humanely’ are loaded onto trucks and transported to abattoirs. The terror of these wild horses as they face eventual death is horrific.
This is directly due to the failure of our Government to instigate a long term national management policy of control, preservation and protection for the Australian Icon, the Brumby Horse. This is the reality and we ask “Why”
In other nations wild horse sanctuaries and controlled breeding programs are an integral part of Government Policy; here, in Australia such policies are non-existent, bullets are the easy solution.
Save the Brumbies is a candlelight in the immense darkness that engulfs the Australian wild horse, we receive no Government Funding and we rely on a caring and aware public to continue our work. Come with us and share the dream, we ask you, “Why not?”
Please email: www.pm.gov.au and voice your concerns directly to the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.
The brumby is Australia's wild horse, descended from domestic horses imported into Australia to be used in the settlement, exploration and development of this country. The brumby is considered by many Australians, and a number of overseas people to be an Australian icon. Others feel that the brumby is a pest and needs eradicating.
How many brumbies live in Australia?
No one really knows. Their numbers run into the thousands, however numbers are declining rapidly. The major portion live in the Northern Territory, and the second largest portion live in north Queensland.
Australians are rather passionate about the wild Brumby as you can see by the following comments by Save the Brumbies Inc, an animal welfare charity dedicated to protecting wild horses in Australia. They encourage people to adopt a Brumbie. This is their message:
Welcome to my bright new world, says our Mascot Adam, a survivor of aerial slaughter.
Australia has many thousands of wild brumby horses. Slaughtered from air and ground and left to die; tiny foals perish of starvation without their dams.
This is the shameful attitude of the Australian Government; it is barbaric and cruel and the carnage continues.
The small percentage of horses that are trapped ‘humanely’ are loaded onto trucks and transported to abattoirs. The terror of these wild horses as they face eventual death is horrific.
This is directly due to the failure of our Government to instigate a long term national management policy of control, preservation and protection for the Australian Icon, the Brumby Horse. This is the reality and we ask “Why”
In other nations wild horse sanctuaries and controlled breeding programs are an integral part of Government Policy; here, in Australia such policies are non-existent, bullets are the easy solution.
Save the Brumbies is a candlelight in the immense darkness that engulfs the Australian wild horse, we receive no Government Funding and we rely on a caring and aware public to continue our work. Come with us and share the dream, we ask you, “Why not?”
Please email: www.pm.gov.au and voice your concerns directly to the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.
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Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
Health Focus
Poetry Lighthouse
MS Paint Art
If it is a problem, surely someone with some imagination can come up with a solution.
Comment by Anne Tootill
The Female View
Alas, I don't know what the answer is.
Comment by Priyanka
History
Mumbai Corner
It is so nice to know they are still found somewhere and I hope it stays that way!
I don't understand why it is being killed?? I mean poaching happens because the leather and other animal items are wanted by why is the brumby being shot and then left to die!!
Comment by Anonymous
A controversial plan to cull wild horses in NSW's Kosciuszko National Park has been criticised by environmentalists for not going far enough.
There are an estimated 1,700 horses in the park and it is claimed they cause environmental damage to delicate alpine habitats.
Numbers are increasing by up to 300 each year.
The New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service wants to trap horses and muster them using helicopters. Some of the animals will then be killed while others will be relocated.
But Andrew Cox from the National Parks Association says aerial shooting is the only real solution.
"I think we need to be realistic with this, we need to employ the best methods and the parks service has even acknowledged that aerial shooting is an effective method," he said
"It is humane, the RSPCA has endorsed it and if done by professional shooters, we will be able to get the results we want, which is to reduce the numbers of horses in KNP and to stop the environmental damage that's being caused."
Mr Cox says despite Australia's brumby folklore, there is nothing romantic about horses in the high country.
"If you actually explore the myth of The Man from Snowy River, it was actually quite a different myth to what we're seeing now, with feral horses occupying more than half and potentially all of the park in the future," he said.
So that will give you an idea of what we are up against, environmentalists on the one side and animal lovers on the other.
Comment by Anne Tootill
The Female View
Comment by Priyanka
History
Mumbai Corner
So looking at it from the environmentalists perspective... if a particular species (eg brumby) increase too fast and start destroying habitat (which is important) and hence other equally valued species in that area what is to be done??
One thing I am wondering about is what if somehow they can be stopped from mating.... that could kind of curb the population.
Ofcourse those things sometimes tend to be painful for the animal!!
Naturally, animal populations are curbed due to higher predators that prey on them so if the damage by a larger population of brumbies is significant then man might have to step in as the higher predator and kill them in the most humane ways.
i myself wouldnt want to but then if I was responsible for the habitat and the other species I might have to take such a step!!
So kinda sympathize with the environmentalists!!
Comment by Anne Tootill
The Female View
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Im a horse lover, I have 5 horses and it brings me joy to see the wild horses running.
Everyone please remember, we shoot KANGAROOS not just a native, but an icon of our country. And we cull them by the thousands.
But what we must understand about horses is they are not NATIVE to this country. Their hard hooves do massive damage to the environment, and Im sure all kinds of animal lovers and environmentalists are having this battle within themselves - no one complains about the shooting of feral cats because they destroy the natural fauna - its just the same for a brumby, and luckily, there is a market for them. A lot of horse meat and products are sent to asia.
I once saw an interview with a man who actually did the culling - he was in tears, he said, "I hate this. Horses are my first love, but I have to do it. Its better I do it than someone who cant make a kill shot"
Years ago the situation was worse and they were randomly shot and left to die, run off cliffs and even poisoned. Since horse people have gotten involved it is better - we have the relocation program, we have the adopt a brumby, and we have save the brumbies as the watchdog. Quite frankly, Im sure the government doesnt want to get its fingerprints on it, its a no win situation -
We must have brumbies.
We must not let them destroy the native environment.
Its a dilly of a pickle. They are working on it though - part of the above documentary I saw how they tag them and track their movements. I know that some of the things that happen are shocking, but at least there is some improvement from years ago.
I just thank our lucky stars its not as bad as america - where horses are packed into two storey trucks and shipped to slaughter houses and not even killed properly before being thrown on the hook....
Comment by Anne Tootill
The Female View
Comment by Diana
Eyes On Oz
Comment by Anne Tootill
The Female View
Thanks Diana, I'll check that book out.