Environmental supporters of the NSW government's aerial shooting of feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park have welcomed the dismissal of a last-ditch legal challenge from a local non-profit group.
The pro-brumby Snowy Mountains Bush Users Group filed legal action against Environment Minister Penny Sharpe in the NSW Supreme Court in June in a bid to stop the aerial killing, which was approved in October 2023.
The government aims to reduce the horse population to 3000 by mid-2027.
After a three-day hearing in July, Justice David Davies dismissed the case on Wednesday.
He rejected claims Ms Sharpe made jurisdictional errors by allowing the culling based on incomplete or misleading information.
The minister followed the correct procedures, taking into account factors such as reducing wild-horse populations, minimising their environmental impacts and integrating this with the aerial shooting of other invasive species, the judge said.
"In circumstances where animal welfare considerations were but one factor to be considered ... I do not consider that the minister's decision was made other than on the basis of relevant and sufficient information," Justice Davies said.
The aerial shooting was only one of a host of measures to reduce brumby populations and it was not Ms Sharpe's duty to decide precisely how or where the helicopters were deployed, he said.
Justice Davies noted an animal-welfare assessment had been carried out by the RSPCA, which found laws preventing cruelty to animals had been complied with.
The judge ordered the group pay the government's legal costs of defending the case.
A National Parks and Wildlife Service spokesperson said she was pleased with the court's decision, saying the wild horses plan would continue to be implemented consistent with the highest welfare standards.
"The science is clear - wild horses are having a severe impact on the environmental and cultural values in Kosciuszko National Park," she said.
Invasive Species Council advocacy director Jack Gough was also pleased with the decision, expressing confidence the shooting would be done professionally, safely and humanely.
He called the lawsuit a "deeply flawed legal challenge" by a small group that did not want to see a single horse removed from the park.
This case joined seven others in Victoria and NSW challenging brumby shooting that had been similarly thrown out, Mr Gough said.
"No one likes to see animals killed, but the sad reality is that we have a choice to make between urgently reducing the numbers of feral horses or accepting the destruction of sensitive alpine ecosystems and habitats, and the decline and extinction of native animals," he said.
Shooting operations were ordered to reduce horse numbers, which surged to over 20,000 when rehoming was favoured under the previous coalition governments.
Between November 2021 and August 11, 2024, almost 9000 horses were removed from the park, statistics from the NPWS state.
Almost 6000 of these were animals killed by aerial shooting, a further 1000 were shot from the ground, while just over 1000 horses were rehomed.
