Over 240,000 Australians sign petition to stop the barbaric cruelty
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Brumby advocates are calling for greater transparency and independent scrutiny of the science underpinning the ongoing wild horse management program in Kosciuszko National Park, following recent comments by Invasive Species Council Chief Executive Jack Gough.
While proponents of the cull frequently point to a "scientific consensus" supporting the removal of wild horses, community members, independent researchers, and long-term Snowy Mountains residents continue to raise serious questions about the evidence being used to justify the scale and urgency of the program.
At the centre of the concern are significant discrepancies between the number of horses physically observed during aerial surveys and the population estimates subsequently used to guide management decisions.
In 2024, survey teams recorded 512 horses across the park, a figure that was extrapolated to an estimated population of approximately 4,000 animals. In 2025, 819 horses were reportedly observed, resulting in an estimated population of 16,500 horses.
Critics argue these figures raise serious questions about the assumptions used in the modelling process. The estimated increase represents a growth rate far beyond what is generally considered biologically achievable in wild horse populations, where mares typically produce a single foal after an 11-month gestation period and population growth is naturally constrained by factors such as fertility, mortality, environmental conditions and available resources. Advocates are calling for greater transparency around how these estimates were derived and independently verified.
"We are continually told to trust the science, yet reasonable questions about the methodology, assumptions and population modelling are dismissed rather than addressed," a spokesperson for the campaign said.
"This is not about denying environmental impacts or ignoring conservation concerns. It is about ensuring that decisions involving the large-scale removal and aerial shooting of iconic wild horses are based on transparent, verifiable and independently reviewed evidence."
Advocates also dispute repeated claims linking brumbies to some of the park's most threatened alpine species, including the Mountain Pygmy-possum and Southern Corroboree Frog.
"These species deserve protection, but they should not be used as symbols in a broader public relations campaign without clear evidence demonstrating direct impacts from horses in their specific habitats," the spokesperson said.
"The public deserves access to long-term, landscape-scale field studies conducted within Kosciuszko National Park itself, not simply modelling, assumptions or extrapolations."
The group is calling for:
- An independent audit of wild horse population estimates and survey methodologies.
- Full public release of the data and assumptions used to calculate population figures.
- Independent field-based research into horse impacts across different habitats within Kosciuszko National Park.
- A guaranteed number of horses to remain unharmed in the park.
- A transparent assessment of alternative management options for exceeding horse numbers, including rehoming and fertility control
"At its core, this debate is about transparency, accountability and public confidence," the spokesperson said.
"If the science is as definitive as we are repeatedly told, then it should stand up to scrutiny. Australians deserve access to the evidence behind decisions that will determine the future of one of the nation's most iconic wild horse populations."
