| A petition calling for an urgent reduction in wild horse numbers in Kosciuszko National Park was lodged for presentation by Member for Wagga Wagga, Dr Joe McGirr, in state parliament this week.The petition received over 15,500 signatures, with the aim of recognising the “severe environmental and cultural damage caused by feral horses” in the KNP and calling on the government to urgently reduce numbers by supporting a horse management plan.Because the petition received over 500 signatures, the government must provide a response.However, it did not reach the 20,000 signatures needed to trigger a debate in the legislative assembly.
Dr McGirr has previously said that the release of the spring 2020 population survey, which shows the current estimate at being just over 14,000 horses, confirms there are too many in the park. “The report reinforces how important it is to control the number of feral horses and to preserve Kosciuszko National Park and the source of major rivers – the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Snowy,” he said.“This is a fragile ecosystem and some of our unique species of Alpine flora and fauna are threatened by these hard-hooved wild horses.” Dr McGirr said he will continue to push the government for a “humane reduction of the feral horse population.”
A competing petition was launched in response to this one, calling for the trapping, culling and removal of horses in the KNP to “cease immediately”. It currently has over 3,700 signatures and is due to close on March 15. A previous petition launched by Reclaim Kosci – a group aiming to protect the KNP from the impact of wild horses – was voted down by government MPs in the state’s lower house last year.Led by the Member for Monaro, John Barilaro, the NSW coalition government used its numbers to block a move to have the petition noted, Reclaim Kosci said. “This was insulting and disrespectful,” Reclaim Kosci campaigner Candice Bartlett said. “The Parliamentary Library confirmed that since the mechanism for the automatic debate of petitions was introduced in 2019, this was the first time the house voted against the ‘noting’ of a petition.”
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