Sept 6, 2010
The Australian government wants to eradicate the horse population and further develop a cattle station on the land. A local group, Wild Horse Kimberley, who has been working with these horses for five years, is willing to work to manage the population through gelding of stallions and use of a contraceptive for the mares, and so manage the population.
After many weeks of deliberations, the Government has announced that …….
In October, when mares have just given birth to their foals, the government will slaughter the horses by gunning them down from helicopters..
Their last aerial slaughter in the Kimberley on Frazier Downs resulted in 662 horses dying slowly from bullet wounds in legs and shoulders. Independent observers went in afterward and found horses shot in the back and stomach. Mares had aborted foals as they died. All the horses lay dying in agony. No follow up was done. Foals were found beside their mothers dying of starvation. Locals were alerted to the slaughter when a loan foal wandered onto an Aboriginal Community. He was rescued only to die later. The cull resulted in an investigation and a commitment to change the management of practices – however there is no evidence of such changes having eventuated. And no program was implemented to manage wild horse populations without recourse to wholesale slaughter.
As a matter of urgency, the public is asked to take action to tell the Government, once and for all, that wholesale slaughter is not the answer. Compassionate, humane, long term and sustainable population management is called for.
Assistance is needed to:
- Advise the Ministers of your strong opposition to the killing of the horses at Lake Gregory.
- The welfare risks of aerial shooting of wild horses at Lake Gregory are high. Chasing and shooting horses from a moving platform is fraught with danger to the animals. Foals in particular cannot keep up with the mob and may be injured in the pursuit. Many horses may die slowly after being wounded.
- Call on the WA government to initiate trials of fertility control measures and other non-lethal population management of wild horses on remote properties and State parks.
- Demand government develops plans for sustainable animal populations and humane approaches for population control.
Animals Australia has set up a further action on their website to protest against this latest planned atrocity. Animals Australia is requesting the public to take a couple of minutes to access and send an e-mail of protest and to personalize the letter as much as possible.
For more information go to:
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