When introduced animal species endanger the native fauna and flora, the first thing that comes to mind is cats, rats, mice or goats. But horses also leave lanes of devastation in the wrong place: This applies, for example, to the feral horses in the Australian mountains called brumbies. Without rapid countermeasures, twelve endangered species of the fifth continent could become extinct, warns the Australian Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC), as the «Canberra Times» writes. The high altitudes of Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales were particularly hard hit: the animals trampled on the delicate flora that had developed in the absence of ungulates and destroyed wetlands in the park.
In just two years, the number of horses has increased from 14,000 to 18,000,000. Animals enlarged, according to a report by the authority.Without strong countermeasures, twelve animal species could become extinct because their habitat is destroyed, including three frog species, four reptile species and four fish species each, and one mammal species. «Feral horses could be the decisive factor for the final extinction,» says the statement of the TSSC.
For decades, the containment of horse herds has been hampered or prevented by various interest groups working to protect the brumbies. For them, horses are inextricably linked with the history and settlement of the country. Since the turn of the millennium, therefore, aerial hunting has been prohibited in the national parks of New South Wales, although according to experts this is the most effective way to reduce the number of horses.
Instead, animal welfare organizations advocate reducing the population through birth control, but this is also very time-consuming and complicated because of the hard-to-reach terrain.In order to initiate a decline at all, one would have to 50-_ percent of the total herd treat accordingly so that it begins to shrink – in a period of 10 to 20 years: perhaps too late for the endangered native species.
As a second alternative, an organization called «Save the Brumbies» tried to capture horses and release them in other regions. However, since this put the animals under a lot of stress and led to some serious injuries, the program was terminated – especially since it only shifts the problem. In total, park authorities would have to pay more than 4000 euros annually by 2026; Remove horses to the target size of 3000— copies in 2027. This is significantly more animals than has been achieved so far in 2022: This year, around 860-_ Brumbies removed from the park.
In total, there are said to be half a million feral horses in Australia, 200,000 of them in Queensland and the Northern Territories alone, where they can be shot from helicopters.
Source — https://www.spektrum.de/news/australien-verwilderte-pferde-zertrampeln-australische-bergwelt/2138643