The much-needed Draft Kosciuszko Wild Horse Management Plan 2016 is currently on public exhibition until 19 August 2016.
The draft plan, developed with input from an Independent Technical Reference Group and after extensive community engagement, is a review of the 2008 Kosciuszko National Parks Horse Management Plan.
Due largely to the horse lobby, trapping and removal were the only methods of control recommended in the original plan. These methods proved completely ineffective for controlling the park’s horse population with numbers doubling in size from an estimated 3,000 individualsin2008,to6,000 in 2014. This has resulted in widespread and significant environmental damage and cost taxpayers an estimated 3.6 million.
A substantial and rapid reduction of wild horse numbers through effective, humane control measures is needed to prevent further damage to the park. Though a more ambitious plan would have been preferable, NPA support the draft plan in its current form as the minimum that should be implemented.
We encourage you to put in a submission to the draft plan by the 19 August closing date. A submission guide has been developed to assist you