The official response from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage is that there is no brumby trapping operations underway in the northern part of Kosciuszko National Park, but photos appear to show otherwise.
These photos supplied to The Land clearly show saltblocks and other molasses licks placed in cut logs to entice wild horses to a trapping site near Kiandra.
Asked several times for a response on where wild horse management was going, if trapping operations were underway in the north of the park at four sites, and when the 2018 Kosciuszko Wild Horse management plan would be released, with plans to cull 5400 wild horses, the Office of Environment and Heritage gave a three paragraph response.
The OEH said: “Trapping in the Mt Selwyn/Kiandra/Three Mile Dam area is not planned before next summer. Trapping is part of an integrated regional pest management strategy which aims to reduce the impacts of all pest animals in Kosciuszko National Park. The program aims to minimise environmental impacts on the Park and reduce risks posed to visitors, while still preserving its wild horse heritage.”
Former NSW MP Peter Cochran who takes horse treks through the park, says it is clear the Parks are planning a major trapping operation on northern brumbies from what he has seen on the ground. He has seen one at Circuit track near Tantangara Dam, he said. “To say they are not trapping is bull….”, he said.
New wild horse saltblock trapping sites have been set up in the Kiandra area, one close to the Selwyn ski fields at Goldseekers track near Three Mile Dam, one at Rules Point, and one near Tantangara Dam (at the head of the proposed Snowy 2.0 scheme). The saltblocks are used to get horses to come to a particular spot before metal traps are erected. The saltblocks and molasses are in places where horses have never been trapped before.
Snowy Hydro says it has no knowledge of the operation or is related to the construction of Snowy 2.0 facilities just north of Kiandra. A statement by Snowy Hydro environmental manager Charlie Litchfield said: “Snowy 2.0 is a pumped hydro expansion of the existing Snowy Scheme to add large-scale storage and energy generation to the National Electricity Market. Snowy 2.0 has nothing to do with wild horse management in the National Park and it is incorrect to link the two.”
The previous Wild Horse Management Plan foreshadowed in 2016 that there would a be a cull of wild horses in the area now but further north in the “karst” area. A meeting of concerned brumby supporters is meeting in Talbingo on Sunday. They want the wild horses heritage listed and do not believe current herds pose a threat in the northern part of the park. A famous silver brumby known as Paleface is among the herds being targetted. He is about 10 years old and has two mares with him.
Snowy Mountains Bush Users Group president Alan Lanyon said there was definitely a trapping operation underway and he had seen a truck laden with trapping equipment at Long Plain only a few weeks ago.
“The saltblocks are traps. What they do is get them used to it and then they erect the steel gates. A wild horse will walk though hell to get to that salt,” he said.
“This is all based on ideology, there is no science to it. And they are tightening on any information getting out. In the last six years they have spent $4.6m on horse eradication programs.”
Mr Lanyon said all trapping should be suspended until the new wild horse management plan is released. The Land understands there could be an announcement on the brumbies issue by the end of the month.
- Video courtesy of Ian Brown.
John Ellicott
journalist and author
journalist and author
