The ACT government has welcomed a reversal policy by the NSW government on shooting horses just across the border in the Kosciuszko National Park.
"I welcome the collaboration from our NSW neighbours to provide a safe future for our native ecosystems," ACT environment minister Rebecca Vassarotti said.
She has been lobbying the government in Sydney which had been resistant to the idea of shooting the horses which are very destructive of areas on which they gallop and graze.
Horses do not recognise the border between the Namadgi National Park in the ACT and the Kosciuszko National Park in NSW so the explosion in numbers on the NSW side threatened the ecosystem on which Canberra depends, not least for its water supply.
"We are in an extinction crisis and the negative consequences of feral horses on our fragile alpine environment cannot be overstated," Ms Vassarotti said.
"They can damage and destroy vegetation, compact and trample soil, and compete with native wildlife for vital resources like food and water. Feral horses can also contribute to the spread of invasive plants and alter waterways, which in turn impact aquatic environments.
"These invasive species start to destroy the foundations of our natural ecosystems, contributing to the collapse of our environment."
New South Wales hasn't quite decided to shoot its horses yet, only to consider it - but there is a wide assumption that the policy will now change. The change in government in Sydney has prompted the rethink.
On the ACT side of the border, there are culls from the air.
"Recent reports show that without action, wild horses could tip threatened species to extinction. There are simply too many wild horses for the park to cope," NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said on Monday.
"NSW is not on track to meet the wild horse population targets under the legislated Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Management Plan, which is why we must consider the introduction of aerial shooting."
The change of heart in Sydney may have come about as the population of feral brumbies in the Kosciuszko National Park's explodes.
The latest survey indicated they had increased by 30 per cent in two years, up to 18,814 horses in the park in November 2022 from 14,380 in late 2020.
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW welcomed the decision to seek feedback on a plan to "allow aerial shooting as an additional option for the control of wild horses alongside the existing methods such as trapping and rehoming, and ground shooting".
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