So now we have horses over-running the VIC Alps

[rogespeed]

Word has got out the due to the destructiveness ( organic maintenance of native pasture land ) of wild horses shredding ( adding manure to the soil and suppressing weeds in open ground) of the Alpine region , all claimed 5,000 of them ( count them, nellie , buck, sammy...) within only 5,199 sq kms of high country wilderness , (only half of Melbourne metro area) the decision has been made to remove them with extreme prejudice

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/melbourne/cattleman-loses-bid-to-stop-a-massive-shooting-cull-of-wild...

I sort of think that the sight of a small herd of wild horses cavorting in a small hidden valley is somehow majestic 

[lionrose.7]

I cant bear the thought of some one shooting horses, it just seems so wrong 😞

[davewil1964]

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@lionrose.7 wrote:

I cant bear the thought of some one shooting horses, it just seems so wrong 😞

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They are a menace. They destroy alpine ecologies. They are an introduced animal, allowed to go feral, and the country suffers because of it. Just like cats, dogs, pigs, rabbits, foxes, cane toads. Even cattle in the high country.

Nothing, roge, to do with cultural cringe (which seems to be your phrase of the week). They are getting close to the ACT, where most of our water comes from alpine streams. Have any of you seen what a mob of brumbies does to a creek and the associated wetlands?

[lionrose.7]

I still cant bear it, hard being a empath for animals, I feel a physical pain

[chameleon54]

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@lionrose.7 wrote:

I still cant bear it, hard being a empath for animals, I feel a physical pain

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OK I get that, its not pretty and I wouldn't want to be the poor guy that has to fly up in a helicopter shooting them. I doubt that they would sleep very well for awhile. ( yes believe it or not, professional shooters are human too ) 

So do you have an alternative, realistic, achievable way to get all of the feral horses out of our national parks or should they just be able to breed up into plague proportions, destroying the fragile ecosystems that make up the highlands national parks sending all of the native orchids and small marsupials into extinction ?

What other realistic alternatives are there ?

[*kazumi*]

I love horses, hate the idea of them being shot, but their numbers are out of control, and they have no natural predators.  Maybe the foals could be caught and sold as riding horses.  The groups that are trying to save them had years to come up with some workable solutions.  Maybe corralling them and castrating all males would have over years brought the numbers down. 

[rogespeed]

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@*kazumi* wrote:

I love horses, hate the idea of them being shot, but their numbers are out of control, and they have no natural predators.  Maybe the foals could be caught and sold as riding horses.  The groups that are trying to save them had years to come up with some workable solutions.  Maybe corralling them and castrating all males would have over years brought the numbers down. 

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yes I can understand your sentiment  1 horse per square kilometer will kill off all woodland herbage and render a dust bowl , they displace kangaroos and in tme will be a threat to tourist hikers 

but seriously why not just kill off half every 5 years , maybe a paid safari style hunt - make it interesting and challenging - large calibre gun , no ambushing , must stalk within 50 meters for a clean shot.

Be a big money spinner for the state - as hunters fly in from all over the world for the contest

reduce the herd and still allow enough to maintain a reminder of the past , a picture of freedom of noble animals

[davewil1964]

Half every five years? Given a mare can foal yearly, that will just slow the exponential increase.

A mob of 10, of which only one would be a stallion, would produce 45 offspring in 5 years, and at least half of the females would also be producing offspring. So let's say, conservatively, 70 animals. Halve that and you have 35 where there were 10.

You obviously have only a theoretical knowledge of the Australian Alps and the fragility thereof.

[bright.ton42]

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@rogespeed wrote:

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, maybe a paid safari style hunt - make it interesting and challenging - large calibre gun , no ambushing , must stalk within 50 meters for a clean shot.

Be a big money spinner for the state - as hunters fly in from all over the world for the contest

reduce the herd and still allow enough to maintain a reminder of the past , a picture of freedom of noble animals

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Seriously?  Big Game hunting in the Australian Alps?  A trigger happy rich idiot behind every 2nd tree?  Have you ANY idea what you're proposing?

Spoiler

Probably not,  given  the thought processes or lack thereof in former posts. 

[davewil1964]

Not to mention the fact that large calibre gun, interesting and challenging don't go together in any sentence.

Hunters from Murrica would want to bring their deer guns. Which they claim their AK47s are for the hunting of.

[the_great_she_elephant]

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@bright.ton42 wrote:

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@rogespeed wrote:

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, maybe a paid safari style hunt - make it interesting and challenging - large calibre gun , no ambushing , must stalk within 50 meters for a clean shot.

Be a big money spinner for the state - as hunters fly in from all over the world for the contest

reduce the herd and still allow enough to maintain a reminder of the past , a picture of freedom of noble animals

---

Seriously?  Big Game hunting in the Australian Alps?  A trigger happy rich idiot behind every 2nd tree?  Have you ANY idea what you're proposing?

Spoiler

Probably not,  given  the thought processes or lack thereof in former posts. 

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2 game wardens, 7 hunters and a cow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQyoSLOlglw