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The Australian Heritage Brumby is a unique
equine and epitomizes the spirit of freedom, roaming through rugged bush
land and the harsh outback areas of Australia where they are free to run
wild and survive in extreme conditions. The largest numbers range freely
throughout the Northern Territory, Queensland and northern Western
Australia as these States contain the most undeveloped and least
populated areas of Australia.
Contrary to the perceived belief that the Heritage Brumby is a diseased,
inbred animal not worthy of preservation, they are, in fact, exactly the
opposite. Free ranging horses in the wild look after themselves very
well. DNA testing of horses from Guy Fawkes, NSW has shown less
inbreeding, (less than 5%) than is found in the modern thoroughbred
industry. Horses from the Northern Tablelands for example, are mostly
Galloways, they have strong bone, sound conformation, their feet are
excellent and they are highly intelligent, thinking animals with well
developed perception, sight, scent and hearing.
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The Past
The Heritage
Brumby is the descendant of the first horses that came out on the ships
from England with the convicts and first settlers; initially only seven
horses arrived with the first fleet in 1788. These mares and stallions
were sufficiently hardy to survive the voyage and further evolved in the
1800’s by natural selection and survival of the fittest to endure the
intense heat as well as the cold and snowy conditions of various parts
of this diverse country.
The name ‘Brumby’ is generally thought to have originated from an early
settler, James Brumby. Horses owned by him were left to free range and
readily adapted to the harsh climate of the Australian bush. As there
were vast areas of unfenced land the horses roamed freely and breeding
was intermixed; Thoroughbred, Arabian, and working horse breeds, Draft
and Clydesdale could be said to shape the bloodlines of the hardy
Heritage Brumby.
The horses were versatile types and later they were specifically used as
war-horses for the First and Second World Wars and the Boer War in South
Africa as well as for mounts used in the gold rush days and as police
horses.
Their use as war-horses is testament to their good temperament, sure
footedness and resilience. Horses from the Northern Tablelands of NSW
were captured and bred for the remount trade and were known as Walers;
the brumbies roaming free today can be traced back to those early
bloodlines including the great Arabian stallion, Saladin. Read more
about the light horse here
www.lighthorse.org.au
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The
Present
Wild herds all
around Australia are under threat of ongoing slaughter.
As an example, in October 2000, over 600 horses in the Guy Fawkes River
National Park were shot and killed from a helicopter massacre …..
Due to the world wide outcry that followed the NSW Government
established a Steering Committee to investigate alternative methods of control.
Management plans in NSW are now in place in some areas due largely to our
commitment and dedication to protect the horses. Although passive trapping and
removal of horses from alleged threatened parts of some national parks does
receive priority, shooting and transportation of horses to abattoirs still
continues.
Some horses are handed over to STB and other horse interest groups for
management but with no funding or agistment land available this is a small
percentage in the overall current control methods. In other areas such as
Queensland and Northern Australia aerial slaughter of huge numbers of horses is
a regular occurrence and there are no management strategies in place.
...And The Future
As the
Government take over more and more land where traditionally horses have
free ranged for many years the tough, strong Heritage Brumby is under
constant threat of death. Accused of alleged environmental damage the
horses are banned from their natural habitat and are being slaughtered
in ever increasing numbers. Under Australian legislation the Heritage
Brumby is classed as ‘feral’ and is treated as such. There is no
provision for their protection, preservation and continuation of the
genetics into the future. We are trying to change this and to change
attitudes towards the Australian Heritage Brumby Horse.
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A wild horse is what he is because
of where he is; to take him away from his evolved environment is
to take away the essence of what we need to protect. |
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Australia is rich in resources and land;
there is no excuse for our Government to commit such atrocities
as aerial slaughter on living creatures and to fail to set up
long term management plans for our Heritage Horse, the Brumby
for his survival into the future.
Sustainable, ongoing management of the Heritage Brumby is the
responsibility of the Australian Government. These horses are a
living, vital part of our Nations History.
Heritage Brumbies, managed in the right way are an asset, never
a liability to our economy in terms of income and tourism
potential. Demand for the Brumby as a riding and companion horse
is high yet still the preferred method of management is
shooting; what a waste of resources. We want to see allocated
land for the protection of the Brumby, fertility control in
breeding mares to be introduced and the cessation of
indiscriminate, random shooting as a means of control. The
Bureau of Land Management in the US points the way forward. The
US Government manage over 60.000 wild horses on an annual basis,
this includes PZP fertility control of breeding mares and
adoption of horses by the public.
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How tragic and senseless for this Nation to lose the
rich Heritage and History of the Brumby for lack of economic, sensible
management and lack of foresight, planning and adequate funding from the
Government. Will our history books of the future contain photos of
mutilated, slaughtered horses, left to die where they lie ?? Or will
they display our Australian Icon, our Heritage Brumby Horse, as a symbol
of strength and endurance to be valued and prized by future generations
of Australians ?? It is up to us now, to set the standards for the years
to come.
The Australian Heritage Brumby has served and died for us in
war, has worked our outback stations, mustered our stock, carried our
kids to school, yet this ‘feral horse’ is today, repaid in bullets, just
nuisance value to be destroyed without thought or care. Read more about
similar Brumby organisations in other States. |
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Shame to the Australian Government who continue to ignore the
issue and inflict pain and suffering on these intelligent and
beautiful animals.
Plans of ‘Feral’ Horse Management currently in place in NSW can
be obtained from DEC. etc. for reference. Also go to
www.abhr.com.au for further information and the
Heritage Brumby Horse in Australian showrings. |
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