Animal lovers are outraged after learning that the Australian government plans to shoot thousands of wild horses via aerial sharpshooters in helicopters. The horses, known as brumbies, reside in Kosciuszko National Park and officials want to reduce their numbers from 19,000 to approximately 3,000.
New South Wales Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said that while nobody “wants” to kill the horses, something drastic must be done.
“Threatened native species are in danger of extinction and the entire ecosystem is under threat. We must take action.”
Sharpshooters killed wild horses from helicopters back in 2000, but the cull stopped after several days when the public reacted negatively to the method officials were using.
Some people believe the horses are part of Australia’s national identity, but others, especially environmentalists, believe they are destroying native plants and causing soil erosion.
Animal lovers have pointed out that the horses shot from the air sometimes do not die immediately and they may suffer for days before succumbing to their injuries.
What do you think about the government’s directive? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
(Stock image of horses via Pixabay)
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You know there is this thing called birth control – whether it is through purposeful oral products, just like with some other species, or spay/neuter surgeries. Heaven forbid Australia actually do wildlife “MANAGEMENT” and stop a portion from reproducing so that numbers aren’t overwhelming. Good God, what is wrong with the government to not realize that there are non-lethal options, ALWAYS!!!!
I totally agree <3
My best thoughts from Danemark
I totally agree with Michelle Parson
I agree Michele either way there SHOULD NOT BE ANY LOSS OF LIFE!!
I agree with Michelle Parson
Yes, exactly Michelle Parson!
I agree with Michelle Parson also.
I am in the USA, Nevada, and am a certified Darter (of birth control) and Advocate for the wild horses here. We are constantly fighting with the Bureau of Land Management as they are trying to eradicate our country of the wild horses. The helicopter roundups kill many both on the range and then individually for injuries sustained during the brutal roundups. I feel your pain and frustration. We just have to keep trying and keep proving that the birth control works if you let it. A very sad state if affairs, all over the world!😢🐎
This needs to be stopped! This is despicable, that beautiful wild horses would be subjected to this cruel and inhumane way of ending their lives.
What can a normal citizen do to put an end to this? So much sorry and cruelty in this world with the government perpetuating a lot of it!
This is horrible. Proof in the west that natural animal like horses do not destroy vegetation. Humans need to learn to respect and appreciate the animals. Other means can cut the numbers.
I learned to Hate Australia during their Covid lockdown abuse of humans. I used to think highly of Australia.
Bunch of Communist Marxist EVIL SINISTER Son of a Bitches.
FLUCK YOU AUSTRALIA !
You’re an idiot.
Oh fuck off with the Covid abuse.. So much bullshit about losing your rights. You don’t know what that means…so you couldn’t go to a restaurant, big deal. First world fucking problems.
I agree. Entitled, destructive colonizers. How much destruction have those HUMANS done? To the Aborigines? To the native fauna and flora with their mines damaging koala habitat? the list goes on and on…
I agree 10000% with you Ken…Ditto
The only Karma is that most of the humans got the jab and will all be dead within 5 years.
I thought the same thing-“herded” people up and into “camps” for the unvaccinated. Only a government would come up with this solution. There has to be a better way….
they should shoot the assholes who propose this garbage. all the climate assholes at work across the globe and at the end of the day all their bullshit will amount to doing nothing for the environment. in many cases it makes matters worse but that is how they operate. they listen to a bipolar babbling phony greta thornburgh who does everything she does for the camera. they work off a personal agenda not facts.
And another idiot.
This is outrageous and must be stopped. Humans are the invasive species! All the damage caused by people is far and away more harmful to the entire planet than anything these innocent horses can do by grazing! There is fertility control available to manage populations. Killing is never the answer. Don’t let this horror happen.
This NEEDS to stop!! There are humane ways to deal with the problem. Put some sort of birth control in food and leave it for the horses to eat. I agree with all the other comments. If this were children would you do just kill them!? I don’t think so. Shooting them is completely wrong!! Maybe catch some, break them and put them up for adoption. There are other ways to deal this other than shooting them!! Come on Australia, do the humane thing!!!
DEVIL EVIL govt is wiping out all animals n usa. STOP IT
How can the government be so cruel?! What a horrible way of dealing with a problem… there are other alternatives. It’s animal abuse!! I used to want to Visit Australia but hearing this and other horrible treatment of animals I no longer want to visit.
Man is destroying so much of wildlife. We can’t protect them enough from this evil. These wild horses are just living their lives. This is disgusting. These killers should be held accountable.
Shame on all involved. Let the animals take care of themselves. Humans don’t always make the best decisions on how to improve the planet…after all we’re the ones destroying it.
Send in teams of vets and these sharpshooters to sedate stallions and older colts and geld them, this will drastically reduce numbers and us way more humane than killing them. This is a quick surgery with little to no stitches so can be done on ground.
I belong to many horse advocate groups and I’ve seen pictures of what the government does to these horses. It’s beyond comprehension that a civilized country could allow and condone killing its beautiful brumbies. It’s beyond heartbreaking to see foals trying to nurse from their dead mother and it doesn’t take long before the foals are also dead and they lay and rot surrounded by other dead horses. There is just no place in a civilized world for this kind of blatant cruelty.
Boy, this sounds like something that needs to be done with a bunch of politicians since they’ve been in politics way too long and they never listen to the general public. Since when do a civilized people condone out right murder/slaughter of defense animals.
Horrible and indefensible! These precious ones have Long been a healthy and contributing factor in the ecosystem and environment. They are healthy. There is no reason to gather them, kill them, abuse and terrorize them!!! We need to do better. Please don’t go through with this cruel act of terror!
This is disgusting- I thought the US was awful to wild horses but New South Wales sound like barbarians.
Small, minded people rarely have great ideas, just a series of excuses, complaints and always looking for what they think is the easy way out! They tried this method in 2000 and failed. So, for the past 23 years, the government has sit by and wasted precious time when other methods could have taken place! There is absolutely no excuse for violence in this matter! Horses can be relocated or gelded to easily control the population. We could debate this topic all day but where is the petition to end this nonsense before its too late?
My thoughts? Humans are given a conscience to be compassionate to the innocents. If humans go in the other direction, they are knowingly letting their evil come out towards an innocent. Therefore, my feelings are this- an eye for an eye.
WE SHOULD KILL THE EVIL PEOPLE WHO CAME UP WITH THIS SICKENING PLAN!!!!
I understand the need to control numbers due to their being no way for any animals to migrate out of Australia, but this is a cruel and inhumane way to do it. Animals can be rounded up and spayed/neutered or given birth control. It’s horrible to chase an animal down with a helicopter and shot it from the air.
Australia has a long history of cruel animal abuse.
This has turned into an everyday solution; just kill animals to deal with their overpopulation. We are supposed to have some kind of intelligence; why not use it once in a while and come up with a better; and certainly more humane way; to deal with the problem. This is downright cruelty and laziness! Just take the easy way and kill them all. Stop for a second and think how you would feel if you were the ones down there running for your lives while some heartless and despicable people were trying to put an end to your life. Wake up people and see all the heartache and misery that you cause these poor animals along with those of us that are human enough to feel their pain as well.
Need to wipe out the human animal instead.
Here in America’s west, Fish, Game and Wildlife in complete cooperation with ranchers who use public lands to graze their cash cows — flush horses into pens with low flying helicopters. Animal dealers are waiting to load the terrified horses and burros into trucks heading to horse slaughterhouses in in Canada and Mexico! These are tax payer, public lands meant for wildlife — ranchers should not be allowed to graze their animals on lands belonging to the public — its our wildlife heritage, belonging to all Americans that they are killing off in horrible ways for their profit. Write to the Bureau of Land Management and protest! Also they kill all predators –wolves, cougars, bears so as not to disturb their grass eating cows!
Agree completely
I remember the horror of the last ‘aerial massacre’ they referred to as a cull Australia deemed necessary. The images still haunt me seeing suffering horses
languishing after being shot by these so-called sharp shooters in helicopters. Running horses, unsteady helicopters = bad aim.
Horses with broken legs from falling being chased & shot. Elders & foals collapsing from exhaustion. Foals trying to nurse on their dead mothers. Mares standing over their dead foals.
A pregnant mare chased, shot, causing her to go into labor. Her foal was still half way inside her when she died. I still grieve ever time I think of this barbaric torture.
For the good of the environment, what a farce! Get the horses off the public land, bring on the welfare ranchers, energy corporations, & big game hunters, they cause zero damage to the same land, right? Australia is no different than here in the US when it comes to protecting wildlife & public land…despicable to no end. Shame, shame, shame !!!!@
Totally agree: Australia, America, Assholes….the disgusting idiots that decide this abuse should have the same thing done to them!
Sickening!! The thought of this happening with how advanced we are in technology, i’m sure there’s a better way to handle this. This is a barbaric plan and should not even be considered as an option, and if followed through the people carrying out this plan ALL should be jailed and prosecuted!!
This is cruel, plain and simple. There are better ways to handle the overpopulation problem, if that is truly a problem, of the horses that are beings just trying to live.
God sees all Australian authorities.
I am an Aussie, and I am disgusted by this plan. When I was a kid, Australians were kind to animals. Now that has changed. The horses are beautiful and an asset to Australia. The plants that they are destroying do not have the feelings of pain and fear that the horses do. Let them eat and trample the plants. To kill these beautiful animals is beyond cruel. I would not hesitate to shoot the rotten people who made this decision. May they rot in hell.
EVIL from DEVIL usa
A-they could use contraception. B- horses replentish grasses and such since some seeds get pooped out. So no loss of vegetation, it’s been proven. So shame on the a**holes who think it’s better to kill them. 😠😢
How awful and inhumane. Turn the gun on yourselves. You’re no different than an animal abuser.
Disgusted about these round ups!! Please everyone at least sign all the petitions that come your way about these round-ups. I’m just livid that people would do this to horses. And, the land belongs to ALL of us-not just cattle ranchers and the horse killers.
There are so many better options without using killing. Too bad the government is so lazy and corrupt to actually get off their dead butts and do something productive. They had plenty of time to work on solutions and be proactive. That’s why countries like Australia are in trouble. They have losers running the country and when bad things start to happen they have no plan and that will doom the country.
Cats, kangaroos, koalas, horses…. If man is unable to control them they kill them. So much for “mankind”
This is wicked beyond believe how on earth can this evil Australia Government instruct the killing of 16,000 thousands innocent Horses ,these beautiful animals have done nothing wrong and therefore must be allowed to live a loving peaceful life, after all Australia is one of the largest countries in the world so shortest of space should never be a problem. So l beg you Australia Government please do not go ahead with this dreadful plan. Yours Most Sincerely Anthony Black.
It is not a good way to reduce the number of wild horses. I request to Australian Government instead to kill 16000 innocents horses send them to the needy countries where many other welfare projects are going and the horses are also beneficial for anti snake venom project. I also beg you Australian Government please do not go ahead with this drastic plan. Yours sincerely Dr. Muhammad Kashif Khan
This is horrible! Shooting horses!!!! Please seek other alternatives than killing! Just speechless….
Implement dart type birth control. Stop needless, senseless killing of these beautiful animals.
This is NOT OKAY!!!! These are our beautiful beings and we are supposed to take care of them!! STOP THE KILLING!! These people have NO right to be in charge of these animals!! Cruel!!