Brumbies: victims of history’s choices and today’s actions.

The debate surrounding brumby killing in Australia ultimately comes down to the desire to protect animals from harm and suffering — one on hand, to protect wildlife and their natural habitat, and on the other, to spare horses living in the wild from cruel deaths. 

On each side of the debate, animals are being talked about as a collective — native or introduced — and assigned differing value. But every single animal within those groups is an individual, someone who has a personality as unique as any companion animal.

To forge the path to a kinder future for animals and the land we share, solutions to environmental and ecological challenges must be considerate and compassionate. After all, regardless of how they are categorised or what they are labelled, all animals have the capacity to suffer. 

It is important to remember that horses exist in the Australian wild because humans brought them here.

Known as ‘brumbies’, they are descended from horses who were sent across seas over 200 years ago to be used for transport, labour, and utility work. Soon after colonisation, some horses were either deliberately released or escaped and established themselves in the wild.

Like most introduced wild animals who are now villainised and labelled as a ‘pest’, brumbies were originally brought to Australia for human gain — and now the descendants of these sensitive animals are paying the ultimate price.

Throughout history, brumbies have been revered by many for their beauty, their cultural and historical significance, and for being living symbols of freedom. Today, many people are shocked to learn about the cruel treatment of these animals during ‘population management’.

The methods used to kill horses living in the wild are far from ‘humane’. They may be rounded up and trapped before being shot, transported to slaughterhouses, or pursued and shot from helicopters.

In 2000, horses in Guy Fawkes River National Park were severely impacted by bushfires, and a decision was made by the NSW government to shoot them. Over 600 brumbies were killed. Though a review of the shooting found the killing was carried out ‘appropriately’, several horses were found alive days after being shot, demonstrating that even when conducted in a way that the government considers ‘appropriate’, animals can be left to die slow and agonising deaths. The distress and anger of the public led to the end of aerial shooting as a ‘control method’ for brumbies — until it was reintroduced in 2023.

After twenty years of being banned, during the preliminary killing ‘program’ in November 2023, 270 horses were shot over two days — and only 43 of these animals were inspected by vets on the ground. The rest were ‘assessed’ by vets from the helicopters.

Shooting horses from the moving platform of a helicopter is not only cruel but extremely risky as terrified horses try to flee across the mountainous terrain. Horses who are not immediately killed may escape, only to endure prolonged suffering. Unweaned foals can also be left orphaned, only to succumb to predators or starvation.

Sadly, the shooting of horses continues, and is planned across June 2026 as recently announced by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

In various regions across Australia, brumbies have been categorised as a ‘pest’ or ‘invasive species’, particularly where there are populations of threatened native animals and sensitive habitats.

Brumbies are also considered to be a potential threat to agricultural interests in some areas, seen as ‘competing’ with farmed animals for grazing land. Despite the fact that farmed animals are ‘introduced’ animals too, and the clearing of land for grazing is one of the biggest threats facing wildlife.

Bred into the food system only to be killed, the number of farmed animals in Australia far outweighs the estimated number of brumbies. With swathes of native habitat being destroyed to graze farmed animals, it would be remiss not to look at the role animal agriculture plays in jeaporadising the future of Australia’s native animals.

Kosciuszko National Park — the largest national park in New South Wales (NSW) — has long been home to the largest population of brumbies in the country.

In 2019, the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act (also known as the ‘Brumby Bill’), was introduced with the purpose recognising and protecting ‘the heritage value’ of wild horse populations within parts of the national park — but only a specific number of horses would be set to benefit from this protection.

In 2021, the NSW Government’s Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan set a target to reduce the wild horse population in Kosciuszko National Park to just 3,000 by June 2027. This number was selected to try to strike a balance between protecting the park and the horses’ perceived ‘heritage value’ to Australia’s history rather than their intrinsic value as sentient animals. 

Over 17,000 horses were estimated to be living in the region in 2023, though concerns have been raised regarding the counting methodology. The recent 2024 survey estimated that between 1,579 and 5,717 horses remained — a drastic drop in numbers. In the last several years, many thousands of horses have been shot and killed. Each one was an individual who sought comfort and feared danger.

In November 2025, the NSW Parliament voted to repeal the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act, meaning that once the current plan expires in 2027, the limited protections previously offered to some of these horses will no longer exist.

This change means that the remaining horses in Kosciusko National Park will be treated like many other non-native animals in the country, and killed.

The killing of brumbies reflects a deeper and troubling flaw in our laws. Horses do not lose their ability to suffer once they are labelled a pest. Nor do deer, pigs, camels, foxes, goats, birds, donkeys or cats. These are animals who feel fear, pain and joy, and who are simply trying to survive in environments where they have been left with no choice. Failing to recognise this in legislation leaves them vulnerable to cruelty.

While debate has continued about the impact of brumbies on native animals and ecosystems over recent years, the state government simultaneously allowed the Snowy 2.0 Hydro Scheme project in some of the rarest sub-alpine habitats in Australia. The project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) acknowledges the over 1,600 hectares of the region will be ‘disturbed’, and destroy hectares of habitat including that of threatened species.

“To put it in context, that’s the equivalent of saying that we’re going to clear fell all of Sydney Harbour National Park, plus all of Lane Cove National Park, plus all of Kamay-Botany Bay National Park, plus all of Georges River National Park, plus Towra Point Nature Reserve, and a sprinkling of smaller nature reserves.”
— Gary Dunnett, Executive officer of the National Parks Association

That this hydro project was even considered is deeply concerning in an internationally renowned conservation reserve — especially while horses are being chased and shot in the name of ‘protecting’ the habitat.

Australia’s wildlife is suffering greatly, and the reasons boil down to one key thing: human activity.

When native animals are being pushed further into smaller pockets of habitat, the ‘everyday’ pressure of simply trying to survive in an increasingly challenging environment is amplified. So, shifting towards a more sustainable food system, re-foresting space for wild animals, and connecting land that we’ve fragmented with more ‘green corridors’ are some of the most powerful actions that can be taken to meaningfully help wildlife in the longer term.

It is understandable that many caring people are shocked upon learning about the looming threat to Australia’s wild horses. Perhaps even more shocking is the fact that brumbies have little legal protection from suffering.

Australia’s animal protection laws fail to protect the vast majority of animals in this country from even the worst suffering. Inadequate current laws and regulations often serve to protect and perpetuate systems of abuse — not the animal victims. This is why it’s completely legal to confine mother pigs to cages so small they can barely move, or condemn hens to battery cages, or conduct invasive surgeries on farmed animals with no pain relief.

When opportunities arise for legislative reviews, such as various state animal welfare acts or industry Codes, we submit our strong opposition to, and recommendations against, unnecessary, inhumane and lethal ‘population control’ methods.

We’ve made numerous detailed science-based submissions to state government inquiries, representing the myriad species subjected to inhumane practices, cruel procedures, and ‘control methods’ simply because of the way those animals have been classified (such as farmed animals, ‘ferals’ or ‘pests’). Thankfully, there are many voices speaking up on behalf of wild horses, including the Animal Justice Party, who are campaigning to end brumby slaughter. Animals Australia advocates for all animals to live free from cruelty and suffering. We will continue to do everything in our power to create meaningful and long-lasting change through legislative representation and conscious-shifting awareness campaigns.

To mitigate the potential effects of brumbies on the environment and native wildlife, a sustainable, ethical approach must be created; a way forward that ensures the well-being of both the existing brumbies and the ecosystems in which they live.

As long as introduced wild animals are scapegoated, and discourse around their ‘control’ serves as a distraction to the broader issue of human land use, particularly animal agriculture and its impact on native animals — the suffering of all wild animals, introduced or otherwise, will continue.

Through comprehensive research, resource investment, and careful planning, current environmental and ecological challenges must be met with solutions that are compassionate and considerate to all.