National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is delivering the biggest feral animal and weed control program in the history of NPWS to reduce the number of feral animals such as goats, pigs, deer, foxes, rabbits, wild dogs and feral cats.
This includes the use of control methods such as shooting and baiting, which has increased significantly compared to the average across the last decade.
About 33,000 feral animals were removed in 2021–22 from NSW national parks, and more than 38,882 hectares of weeds were treated.
To sustainably manage wild horse numbers in Kosciuszko National Park, NSW Parliament passed the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act 2018, and the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan was adopted in 2021.
NPWS is implementing wild horse control in accordance with the control methods approved in the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan.
The plan balances protection of the heritage value of wild horses and maintaining the exceptional conservation values of the national park.
All control measures under the Plan are required to meet the highest possible animal welfare standards, and these standards are being met.
Safety is paramount and all control measures are implemented according to strict operational safety standards.
To protect the safety of NPWS staff, contractors and visitors, and the welfare of wild horses, operational details about control will not be publicly released.
A statement summarising the outcome of control programs will be made publicly available every 6 months.
