While the horses have cultural heritage value to some, letting them continue to damage a fragile national park is an unacceptable trade-off, scientists say.
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.
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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
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.