The aerial shooting cull of Kosciuszko National Park’s wild horses will resume next month. Photo: Supplied.
The NSW Government will resume aerial shooting of wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park in June, sparking renewed controversy and criticism just months after NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe appeared to suggest the controversial control method was being phased out.
The decision follows the release of updated population figures by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) last week, which estimated that between 1579 and 5639 horses remain in the park – a significant drop from the 2023 estimated average of 17,393.
The reduction moves the population closer to the legislated target of 3000 horses by 30 June 2027, as mandated by the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act 2018.
At a budget estimates hearing on 3 March, Minister Sharpe praised the success of the wild horse culling program and downplayed the likelihood of further aerial culling.
“Aerial shooting is less likely now,” she said. “We’re not ceasing it, but I think it will not need to be used, particularly in the retention areas, because the program has been so successful to date.”
Around 32 per cent of KNP has been designated as retention areas — zones where wild horse herds can remain in recognition of their cultural heritage value.
These areas are primarily located in the southern, northern and eastern sections of the park.
This week, however, Ms Sharpe’s department confirmed aerial shooting will resume in June for the control of all feral species, including deer and pigs, and will be limited to areas outside designated horse retention zones.
However it said there was an obligation under the KNP wild horse heritage management plan to remove all horses from wild horse removal and prevention management areas by 30 June 2027.
“All control methods will continue to be used in these areas,” it said.
Large parts of northern and central KNP will be closed to the public during the 10-30 June operation, including remote wilderness zones and sections of the Australian Alps Walking Track, the Hume and Hovell Track and the National Trail.
The move has triggered a backlash from animal welfare advocates and brumby supporters, who accuse the government of mixed messaging.
“This is a betrayal of trust,” said Leisa Caldwell, a former member of the KNP Wild Horse Community Advisory Panel. “The minister indicated very clearly that aerial shooting was being wound back. Now we’re facing another round of helicopter gunships.”
Ms Caldwell also disputes the updated NPWS population figures, citing an independent AI analysis of raw survey data that showed only 1365 horses were physically sighted.
“The numbers being officially quoted are statistical projections, not headcounts,” she said. “We shouldn’t be authorising lethal operations on what is essentially a modelling assumption.”
She also raised concerns about the impact of the Snowy 2.0 hydroelectric scheme on the remaining wild horse heritage herds.
“That number doesn’t justify this level of lethal response,” she said. “We’ve said time and time again any remaining heritage mobs – like the Kiandra horses – are being pushed out of their retention areas by the Snowy 2.0 construction and as a result of jackhammers and bulldozers, they’ll also be wiped out.
“I think the minister has total extermination of the horses in mind,” she added, “and ironically no one is talking about the ecological damage Snowy 2.0 is doing when it’s tearing the park apart.”
Minister Sharpe has rejected claims of inconsistency, stating that aerial culling remains a necessary option in remote regions where non-lethal methods are impractical.
She also reiterated that a reproductive control trial — using one-shot contraceptive vaccines such as the oocyte growth factor (OGF) — is under development.
“I had a discussion with staff at Kosciuszko about preparing for a reproductive control trial,” she told parliament this week. “The NPWS is actively assessing all available tools.”
The OGF vaccine, trialled successfully in the United States, has been promoted by Animal Justice Party MLC Emma Hurst as a humane alternative to mass killing.
“We now have tools that could make a real difference — but we need the political will to use them,” Ms Hurst said. “Reverting to aerial shooting before these trials even begin sends a contradictory and deeply troubling message.”
Environmental groups, meanwhile, have welcomed the return of aerial culling, arguing that feral horses are inflicting lasting damage on endangered ecosystems and species, including alpine peatlands, wetlands and native fauna.
Professor Jamie Pittock, an environmental policy expert at the Australian National University, said the impact of horses on sensitive waterways and vegetation remained “devastating”.
“Where horses have been removed, the land is starting to heal. Where they remain, erosion, trampling, and water pollution are still occurring.
“Kosciuszko is home to species like the northern corroboree frog and alpine she-oak skink, and every delay in horse control puts them more at risk,” he said.
Aerial culling was banned in NSW in 2000 due to welfare concerns, but reinstated under strict protocols in 2023.
These include adherence to nationally-endorsed animal welfare standards and oversight by an independent panel.
Under the 2021 wild horse management plan, horse numbers must be reduced to 3000 and confined to seven designated retention zones, such as Nungar Plain, Cooleman Plain and Boggy/Kiandra Plains — the latter of which now overlaps with Snowy 2.0 operations.
As helicopters prepare to return to the skies over Kosciuszko, the debate shows no signs of slowing — balancing biodiversity protection against heritage values, ethics and public trust.
“We’re not saying ‘do nothing,’” Leisa Caldwell said. “We’re saying ‘do better’. If fertility control is finally on the table, then why are we still leading with bullets?”
