Australia culls 600 wild horses in scorched park

October 31, 2000
Web posted at: 11:35 AM HKT (0335 GMT)

SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) -- An Australian animal protection group said on Tuesday it was investigating allegations of cruelty in the culling of more than 600 wild horses in a national park devastated by bushfires.

"We have had a complaint that the aerial culling was not humane," said Steve Coleman, spokesman for Australia's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).

"The complaint said some of the horses were shot numerous times -- three to seven bullets were allegedly used to kill some animals," Coleman told Reuters. "I have heard of culls before but never this size."

The National Parks and Wildlife Service conducted an aerial cull two weeks ago, killing 620 of the horses known as "brumbies" in the Guy Fawkes River National Park on the Australian east coast, reducing the park's feral horse population to 80.

A national parks spokesman said many of the horses were sick and dying, and that surviving vegetation in the scorched park was unable to sustain such a large population.

"The horses were dead and dying, in very poor condition because of lack of food in the dry conditions," the spokesman told reporters.

The decision to cull the brumbies was taken after bushfires swept through the area four weeks ago, destroying 43,000 hectares (106,250 acres) of bush, or over 60 percent of the park.

The Australian Veterinary Association said aerial culling was the most humane method of reducing the numbers of wild horses.

"There are very strict protocols to ensure all the animals are killed quickly and humanely and are checked and rechecked to ensure no animals are suffering," said a spokesman.

But some local farmers said horses were crippled by bullet wounds and endured slow and painful deaths.

"The way the horses had been destroyed was a pretty horrifying thing to see," farmer Greg Everingham told local television.

The RSPCA will use a helicopter to fly into the rugged national park to investigate the killings.

"Unfortunately the bodies are already decomposing where they fell and any post-mortem (chance) is dwindling away," said Coleman.

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