The ACT's Environment Minister has called on her NSW counterpart to take further action to address and manage feral horse populations.
Rebecca Vassarotti has urged the NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe to take action ahead of a national meeting of state and territory environment ministers this Friday.
"We are in an extinction crisis. Ahead of the meeting of environment ministers on Friday, this motion reflects the urgent action that must be taken to protect our native wildlife," she said.
"The negative consequences of feral horses on our fragile alpine environment cannot be overstated. They can damage and destroy vegetation, compact and trample soil, and compete with native wildlife for vital resources like food and water."
Ms Vassarotti moved a motion in the Legislative Assembly calling for this action. The motion was supported by all three parties.
The NSW government passed laws in 2018 to grant protection to brumbies and they were given "heritage status" but there was a new plan developed in 2021 to remove the horses from the Kosciuszko National Park.
That plan required the number to be reduced to 3000 by 2027 but a survey from earlier this year found numbers had grown by nearly 30 per cent over two years. It was estimated there were nearly 19,000 horses in the park in November 2022.
Ms Sharpe had noted the park was not on track to meet the target set out by the previous government, to reduce the population of horses to 3000 by 2027, following a visit to the park in May.
During the debate on the motion, Labor minister Tara Cheyne gave a passionate speech about the need for management of feral horses.
She described the laws and plan from the former NSW government as "an appalling piece of legislation".
Ms Cheyne has previously spoken out against the laws, which she said could have a negative effect on the ACT. She spoke about seeing the destruction from feral horses in Kosciuszko during a flyover in 2019.
"What I saw shocked me and still makes my skin crawl. Hundreds of horses, during a drought, looking for water, and in extremely sensitive environmental areas doing so," she said.
"They weren't majestic or beautiful. Anything but.
"The sight of so many of them from the air, scattering and trampling and having very little care for what was around them, reminded me of rats."
The ACT government has been critical of NSW's position and Ms Cheyne moved a motion in the last term condemning this.
The territory has a feral horse management plan and can be targeted by aerial shooters but the brumbies have remained on the NSW side of the border in recent years.
