Stop Shooting Victorian Brumbies

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The Parks Victoria / Andrews Government plan to ground and aerial shoot Brumbies cannot satisfy Standard Operating Procedures and Model Codes of Practice for humane management and must not proceed now or in the future on grounds itr has potential for gross cruelty and inhumane treatment of Brumbies. The CEO of Parks Victoria has failed to adequately address expressions of interest for rehoming and decisions being made are not within the intention of the managerment plan.

Photos: Felicity Clay Photography and Leisa

The Parks Victoria / Andrews Government plan to ground and aerial shoot Brumbies cannot satisfy Standard Operating Procedures and Model Codes of Practice for humane management and must not proceed now or in the future on grounds itr has potential for gross cruelty and inhumane treatment of Brumbies. The CEO of Parks Victoria has failed to adequately address expressions of interest for rehoming and decisions being made are not within the intention of the managerment plan.

Photos: Felicity Clay Photography and Leisa

Letter to Members of the Legislative Council

507 emails sent

We are calling for an end to the Andrews Government plan to ground and aerial shoot Brumbies in all 3 key areas of Victorian National Parks now or ever. The plan cannot satisfy the National Codes of Practice established by the Regulator, for Best Animal Welfare and will lead to acts of gross cruelty. We support the Motion put by Beverley McArthur MP in the Legislative Council calling for a ...

We are calling for an end to the Andrews Government plan to ground and aerial shoot Brumbies in all 3 key areas of Victorian National Parks now or ever. The plan cannot satisfy the National Codes of Practice established by the Regulator, for Best Animal Welfare and will lead to acts of gross cruelty. We support the Motion put by Beverley McArthur MP in the Legislative Council calling for a debate and vote to call upon the Andrews Government to abandon their current and future plans to shoot Brumbies.

Brumby Action Group Inc

Photo: Fleeing Mare and foal Felicity Clay Photography and Black Brumby Leisa

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Subject:

Dear Members of Parliament

I am asking, as your constituent, that you  speak for me, to support the Motion of Ms Beverley McArthur which she put  to the Legislative Council to, inter alia,  cancel any planned Brumby shooting, now and for the future. I request that you support the call for debate and vote in favour of Ms McArthur's Motion for the following reasons.

Following announcements by the CEO of Parks Victoria Matthew Jackson in 2021 the Andrews Government with Parks Victroria have announced a plan to ground shoot and aerial shoot brumbies in remote and rough areas of National Parks where Brumbies have  lived for two centuries.

The plan is incapable of satisfying Standard Operating Procedures or Model Codes of Practice for Humane control of wild living horses. Standard Operating Procedures and Model Codes of Practice exist to avoid the occurrence of inhumane treatment and gross cruelty toward Brumbies,  and  and must be observed. Decisions made by the CEO Parks Victoria Matthew Jackson must be strenuously and closely examined for these reasons. The website of Parks Victoria announces that all Standard Operating Procedures will be adhered, but that is impossible for the reasons I will set out in this communication.

There are better ways of Brumby management and control which does not include lethal control.  I ask that you carefully consider supporting the introduction of a Bill for Heritage Brumby Legislation that will see sustainably managed mobs of wild living Brumbies living in National Parks for all generations, in the absence of lethal control, but with sensible Legislation.

Further, the CEO of Parks Victoria decided upon the current  shooting plans well before all rehoming Expressions of Interest had been  fully explored. Numerous rehomers have come forward with concern,  Expressions of Interest have been rejected on unreasonable grounds or that they are constantly left pending while Matthew Jackson moves forward with his shooting plan.  These matters are to be fully explored with the Victorian Ombudsman;  a complaint has been lodged on both issues.

The Andrews Government propose shooting brumbies in all 3 key areas of Victorian National Parks,  where Brumbies have lived for 200 years,  namely Bogong High Plains, Eastern Alps and Barmah National Park. I ask you to note that Brumbies are an iconic animal with strong and enduring ties to Australia’s modern and cultural history. Further, there is nil evidence that shooting Brumbies will reduce any impact upon flora and fauna as found by the Victorian Auditor General's report of 2021. There is no factual evidence to support the cull.

The contractors appointed are required to engage in night time shooting with silencers in rough areas to avoid the watchful eyes of the public, it is assumed to avoid public scrutiny and outrage at cruelty and unacceptable treatment of an iconic species.

The contractors are to use high calibre guns to shatter Brumby bodies, hunting dogs to track down any wounded Brumbies that they are able to find in the rough terrain, and if so, shoot them again. Then to break down the bodies with chain saws to hide the bodies from public view.

This will of course mean, if  Brumbies are alive they will need to shoot them again before being chain sawed.  There will be no veterinarians present for advice or monitoring for vital signs and cruelty.

Notwithstanding I am opposed to any Brumbies being shot, now or the future, this plan cannot satisfy Standard Operating Procedures and Model Codes of Practice which state
“Ground shooting is best suited to accessible and relatively flat areas where there are 
low numbers of horses"

This plan is for broadscale shooting in remote,  rough and wooded areas that are inaccessible, with limited night vision. The plan is to shoot many horses.

Standard Operating Procedures state:

“Ground shooting as a means of population control is not suitable in inaccessible, wooded or rough terrain where sighting of target animals and accurate shooting is  difficult, or when wounded animals cannot easily be followed up and killed.”  because   "shooting in these rough areas could lead to unnecessary suffering".

The  Parks Victoria/Andrews Government Plan is to ground shoot and aerial shoot Brumbies in remote and rough areas. This will mean  maimed and seriously injured Brumbies will not easily be located, if at all, and particularly as Brumbies will be fleeing en masse and will suffer protracted and painful deaths.

The introduction of hunting dogs to run down maimed and wounded foals, lactating mares and stallions is a reprehensible and macabre plan, that  can only further entrench the possibility for   gross cruelty as hunting dogs find injured foals, mares and stallions.

Standard Operating Procedures states:

“Only head (brain) or chest (heart/lung) shots must be used. Shots to the head are  preferred over chest shots as they are more likely to cause instantaneous loss of consciousness. Chest shots do not render the animals instantaneously insensible and are likely to result in a higher incidence of wounding. Shooting at other parts of the body is unacceptable.”

The Parks Victoria/Andrews Government Plan cannot satisfy this Standard Operating Procedure as night time shooting offers limited vision and the possibility of achieving head or chest shots will be impossible,  with horses running. Brumbies will take multiple body shots from the style of  repeat bullet guns to be deliberately used.

Standard Operating Procedures state:

“Group flight response is a limiting factor for humane and instantaneous killing of 
  horses.”

Night time shooting is a promise of flight response as Brumbies will be resting and the first shot and Brumby falling will lead to  running mobs fleeing for protection and safety.

Standard Operating Procedures State:

“Wounded horses must be located and killed as quickly and humanely as possible with 
a second shot, preferably directed to the head. If left, wounded animals can escape 
and suffer from pain and the disabling effects of the injury.”  and    "Ground shooting is not suited to rough country as wounded animals cannot be   effectively pursued and would suffer unnecessarily."

Night time shooting in rough and remote terrain in accordance with the Parks Victoria plan will mean that wounded Brumbies will not be found  easily, if at all.  Brumbies  will run and  be  difficult to locate in the rough country. Many will suffer long painful deaths as a consequence, and if lactating mares are shot or killed,  foals will die of slow starvation. Pursuing  wounded animals with hunting dogs entrenches any potential for gross cruelty.

Aerial Shooting.

CEO Parks Victoria Matthew Jackson announced the plan of Parks Victoria to aerial shoot Brumbies in remote,  rough and intractable  terrain in 2021. Well before Expressions of OIf Interest from rehomers have been fully considered.

Aerial shooting wild living horses  is as equally cruel and inhumane as ground shooting in remote areas, and why it was banned in New South Wales following the Guy Fawkes massacre.

Standard Operating Procedures state:

“Horses must NOT be shot from a moving vehicle or other moving platform, as this can  significantly detract from the shooter’s accuracy.”

“Ante-mortem observations (CT and TTD) were recorded for 937 horses in Operation A. All horses observed to be chased by a helicopter were shot. Chase time (CT) ranged from 2 to 654 s (median = 42 s, mean = 73 s; Fig. 3). The IDR was 63%” (Instant death rate)(17)
(Only 63% estimated instant death rate.
“Post-mortem observations were recorded for a total of 630 horses, comprising 452 horses in Operation B and 178 horses in Operation C. The number of bullet-wound tracts per animal ranged from 1 to 6” (17)
Up to 6 bullets per horse were observed peppered all over their bodies. 
In total, 35% of horses displayed bullet-wound tracts affecting the cranium, 50% the cervical spine, and 57% the thorax, whereas 3% of horses displayed bullet-wound tracts affecting the forelimbs and 8% the abdomen.” (17)
Horses not rendered immediately insensible (37%) which is is inhumane by any standard.

For all of these reasons, the Parks Vitoria/Andrews Government  plan is flawed, it is unsupported by Standard Operating Procedures and Model Codes of Practice for humane control of wild living horses.

Link to Pestsmart 
https://pestsmart.org.au/toolkit-resource/ground-shooting-of-feral-horses/

The Andrews Government plan to shoot Brumbies must not proceed on grounds that Standard Operating Procedures cannot be satisfied and will lead to gross cruelty and inhumane treatment.  I ask that you support Ms McArthur's Motion and that you oppose the Andrews Goverment plans and demand the planned shooting not proceed now or ever. There are other ways of managing and controlling Brumby populations that does not include unnecessary lethal control.

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