Victorian Nationals Leader and Murray Plains member Peter Walsh joined protesters on the steps of Parliament House, Melbourne, earlier this week in opposition to a tender open to hunters to help control feral animal numbers in National Parks.
Issued by Parks Victoria, Mr Walsh said he was “incredibly alarmed” by safety risks involved in culling feral animals, including the park’s brumbies.
He said he was also concerned by the heavy duty weapons proposed by the government tender.
“If a shooter misses, they have no idea where that bullet is going to end up – hopefully in a tree – but whenever you are using a loaded weapon there is always a risk,” Mr Walsh said.
“That the Victorian Government is prepared to take that chance is an indictment of its lack of recognising things a regional or rural person would understand immediately.”
However, a Parks Victoria spokesperson said they had an “obligation” to control the feral horses in the Alpine and Barmah National Parks.
“Including feral horses, which cause long-term and large-scale damage to native plants and animals, many of which occur nowhere else in the world,” the spokesperson said.
“The most humane feral horse management techniques have been selected on the best advice.”
The tender is part of the Victorian Government’s Feral Horse Action Plan 2021, and all invasive animal control is guided by the Barmah Strategic Action Plan.
Under the plans, Parks Victoria outlined the removal of 100 horses a year from the park over the three years.
“The conservation threats and pressure in the Alpine and Barmah National Parks have been exacerbated in recent years by damage from feral horses, deer and other feral animals,” the spokesperson said.
“The damage they cause is evident.”
Barmah Brumby Hay Angels member Renee Neubauer is also protesting the tender, which is set to close on June 8.
Ms Neubauer said she would protest in front of Minister for Environment, Land, Water, and Planning Lily D’Ambrosio’s office in Melbourne until the state election, which is expected in November.
“The main goal is to take this management plan off the shelf, and stop all shooting,” Ms Neubauer said.
“We have never seen a tender for shooting brumbies before.”
Mr Walsh said the brumbies hold cultural and historical significance, and the plan to cull the animals was “reckless”.
“Not only does the $10 note include images of Banjo Paterson,” he said.
“It is also surrounded by brumbies and lines from his classic, The Man From Snowy River, referring to ‘the colt from old Regret had got away, and joined the wild bush horses’.”
Ms Neubauer argued the most recent count for the number of brumbies in the park has not yet been finalised.
“How can they remove brumbies if they don’t know how many are there,” she said.
“We want at least some communication, because she (Minister D’Ambrosio) won’t talk.”
Ms Neubauer said she is also involved in a protest outside the Victorian Parliament House when the tender is set to close on June 8.