Save the Brumbies is appalled and deeply saddened by the senseless shooting deaths of two heritage Brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park, including Matagi, one of the region’s most recognised and beloved wild stallions.

Matagi, a magnificent mature palomino who had roamed the Snowy Mountains for more than a decade, was found dead near Sawyers Hill in late June. Beside him lay a young black mare, believed to have been his daughter and not yet two years old.

Their deaths were cruel, unnecessary and entirely without purpose.

These were not nameless animals or disposable objects. They were living, sentient beings and part of Australia’s unique cultural heritage. Matagi was known and photographed by generations of visitors, photographers and Brumby advocates. He had become a familiar and much-loved presence in the high country and was believed to be the last mature palomino stallion remaining in Kosciuszko National Park.

Now he is gone.

NSW Police are continuing to investigate the shootings. Police have confirmed that bullets recovered during the investigation were not the same as those used in authorised National Parks and Wildlife Service aerial and ground-shooting operations.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service has also stated that the deaths were not part of an authorised control operation and that the animals were found outside the designated shooting area.

This distinction is important. However, it does nothing to lessen the horror of what happened, nor does it erase the grim environment that has been created around Brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park.

For years, these heritage animals have been publicly vilified, reduced to population figures and labelled as pests to be eradicated. When governments normalise the shooting of horses from helicopters and on the ground, it inevitably sends a disturbing message: that the lives of Brumbies are cheap and that killing them is an acceptable solution.

Whether a Brumby is shot legally under a government program or illegally by an unknown individual, the result for the animal is the same—a violent, terrifying and often prolonged death.

There is nothing humane about pursuing frightened horses from the air. There is nothing compassionate about shooting animals within their own family groups. There is nothing honourable about leaving carcasses scattered across the landscape while surviving horses are left traumatised, injured or separated from their companions.

The killing of Matagi and the young mare is especially disturbing because Brumby advocates understood that Matagi lived within a designated retention area.

These retention areas were supposedly established to preserve representative populations of Kosciuszko’s recognised heritage Brumbies, including horses associated with Kiandra, Currango, Long Plain, Cascade, Byadbo and Pilot.

The areas were selected because of their connections to the Snowy Mountains’ pastoral history, traditional Brumby-running practices and generations of local stories.

What value does the word “retention” have when an iconic stallion can be found shot dead?

What protection does heritage recognition actually provide when thousands of other Brumbies remain condemned to death under a government program?

Under the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan, the NSW Government intends to reduce the Brumby population to 3,000 by 30 June 2027. Approved methods include trapping, rehoming, ground shooting and aerial shooting, with aerial shooting added to the program in 2023.

Save the Brumbies considers the continued use of lethal control, particularly aerial shooting, to be morally indefensible.

These animals are not targets. They are not statistics. They are not an inconvenience to be removed as cheaply and quickly as possible.

They are descendants of horses that helped build regional Australia. Their history is intertwined with exploration, farming, mining, transport, settlement and the development of the Snowy Mountains. Their presence is part of the living story of this country.

It is grotesque that an animal can be officially recognised for its heritage value while members of the same population are simultaneously chased and shot.

Brumby advocates have repeatedly called for greater use of trapping, responsible rehoming, sanctuary placement and fertility control. These methods require commitment, planning and resources, but they offer a pathway that does not depend upon mass killing.

Save the Brumbies and other rescue organisations have demonstrated that Brumbies can be successfully trapped, handled, rehabilitated and rehomed. With patience and proper care, they become intelligent, loyal and highly capable companions.

The repeated claim that slaughter is the only practical option must be rejected.

Convenience does not make cruelty acceptable.

Cost does not justify suffering.

Administrative population targets do not excuse the destruction of living animals that governments themselves have recognised as possessing cultural and heritage significance.

The deaths of Matagi and the young mare should horrify every Australian, regardless of their position on land management. Someone entered the national park, raised a firearm and ended the lives of two harmless animals.

Matagi had survived harsh winters, droughts and more than a decade in the Australian high country. His life was ended not by nature, but by a bullet.

His young companion had barely begun hers.

Save the Brumbies supports a complete and transparent police investigation. Anyone responsible for these shootings must be identified and held fully accountable under the law.

We also call upon the NSW Government to end the broader culture of killing surrounding the Kosciuszko Brumbies, suspend aerial shooting and commit seriously to non-lethal management.

Australians deserve to know precisely how many Brumbies have been shot, how their welfare is monitored, how injured animals are located and dealt with, how dependent foals are protected and what independent oversight exists during lethal operations.

The public should not be expected to accept secrecy, euphemisms and carefully managed government statements while heritage horses are being destroyed.

Matagi was known.

Matagi was admired.

Matagi mattered.

The young mare beside him mattered too, as do the thousands of other Brumbies whose deaths receive no photograph, no name, no police investigation and no newspaper headline.

Their lives must not be dismissed as collateral damage in a politically driven population-reduction campaign.

Australia’s heritage Brumbies deserve protection, responsible management and compassion—not bullets from unidentified shooters, marksmen on the ground or rifles fired from helicopters.

The slaughter must end.

Anyone with information about the deaths of Matagi and the young mare is urged to contact Monaro Police District or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.