Impacts and management of feral horses in the Australian Alps

REPORT - October 2023

Inquiry home page Committee home page

Full Report (PDF)

Contents

Members

List of recommendations

Executive Summary

Abbreviations

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Conduct of the inquiry
Acknowledgements
Terminology
Structure of the report

Chapter 2 - Overview of feral horse populations

Overview
Feral horses (Equus caballus)
Feral horse population estimates
Committee comment

Chapter 3 - Impacts of feral horses on the Australian Alps

Overview
Environmental impacts of feral horses across the Australian Alps
Impact of feral horses on headwaters
Impact on Indigenous cultural heritage
Committee comment

Chapter 4 - Advocate views of feral horses

Overview
Purported benefits of feral horses
Feral horses in Australia’s cultural history
Committee comment

Chapter 5 - Management of feral horses in the Australian Alps

Overview
Current management methods
Feral horse management in New South Wales
Feral horse management in Victoria
Feral horse management in the ACT
Staffing levels in national parks
Treatment of national parks staff
Committee comment

Chapter 6 - Commonwealth Responsibility

Overview
Matters of national environmental significance
Key Threatening Processes
Threatened Species Action Plan
Provisions in the Water Act 2007
Commonwealth funding for feral horse management
The need for greater cross-border cooperation
International obligations and treaties
Inconsistency between jurisdictional legislative frameworks

Chapter 7 - Committee view and recommendations

Overview
Strong need for coordination and cooperation
New South Wales’ legislative constraints
The need for stronger Commonwealth leadership
The Commonwealth’s international obligations
Committee comment and recommendations

Coalition Senators' Dissenting Report

Introduction
Feral horses are destroying the fragile Australian Alps ecosystem
Indigenous cultural heritage
Native plant and animal species need to be prioritised
More coordination is needed to address this problem
Our water quality is under threat
The ACT has paid the price for NSW inaction
Innovative thinking is needed

Appendix 1 - Submissions and additional information

Appendix 2 - Public hearings and witnesses

Appendix 3 - Kosciuszko management plan areas

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