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The impact of wild horses on our national parks: David Watson

Talking Australia
The impact of wild horses on our national parks: David Watson
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In June 2017, ecologist David Watson resigned from the NSW Government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee over the wild horse debate. He posted his letter of resignation on Twitter, where it quickly went viral. Historic icon, convenient resource or environmental vandal – brumbies are both revered and reviled in Australia. Scientists say that the animals are doing irreparable harm to Australia’s alpine region, brumby lovers say the animals are cultural icons. David says you can have horses and you can have protected areas. But you can´t have horses in a protected areas. Join the debate on our social channels! This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Angela Heathcote (Digital Producer at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com). You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic

Wildlife

GALLERY: Brumbies, Australia’s wild horses

Photographer Jason Edwards flew by helicopter into some of the least accessible parts of Kosciuszko National Park to observe Australia’s wild horses, called brumbies, and their impact on the river systems and plains. Find the full story in the Jan/Feb issue (#130) of Australian Geographic.

Destinations

Horse treks in the Victorian High Country: retracing stock routes

Alpine National Park in north-eastern Victoria was once the stomping ground of Australia’s High Country cattlemen. The Plains and the surrounding peaks – including Mt Feathertop and Mt Hotham – all belong to the Victorian Alps, part of the Great Dividing Range. From the mid-1850s until a decade ago, stockmen would drive their cattle through the lush pastures and onto the surrounding mountains and muster them down again in autumn before the first major snowfalls. Since 2005, when the last of the state government’s High Plains grazing leases expired, all that remains are the cattlemen’s huts and scattered remnants of stockyards. In a celebration of this heritage, one pioneering family leads packhorse trips into the High Plains.