If you’ve ever wandered through the breathtaking alpine meadows of Kosciuszko National Park, you’ll know it’s a place of rare beauty, a patchwork of wildflowers, crystal-clear streams, and snow-capped peaks.
However, recent photos emerging from the park have sparked alarm. They show the usual footprints of hikers and deep, ominous tracks gouged into the fragile landscape.
The culprits? Not four-wheel drives or careless campers, but the iconic and controversial brumbies.
These wild horses, romanticised in Australian folklore and immortalised in poetry, are now at the centre of a heated debate pitting cultural heritage against environmental survival.
The images, shared widely online, reveal the extent of the damage: eroded hillsides, trampled wetlands, and muddy, churned-up waterways. For many, it’s a wake-up call that the ongoing brumby crisis is reaching a tipping point.
The brumby issue isn’t new, but the scale of the problem is growing. Kosciuszko National Park, a UNESCO-listed biosphere, is home to some of Australia’s most delicate ecosystems.
Alpine plants here can take decades to recover from disturbance, and the park shelters endangered species found nowhere else on earth, like the tiny corroboree frog and the broad-toothed rat.
Yet, since passing the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act in 2018, at least 3,000 brumbies are required by law to remain in the park, recognising their ‘cultural and historical significance’.
Supporters of the Act see brumbies as living symbols of Australia’s pioneering spirit. But scientists, conservationists, and many locals argue that this policy is sacrificing the park’s future for nostalgia.
The environmental toll
Brumbies are not native to Australia, and the alpine environment is ill-equipped to cope with their heavy, hard hooves.
Unlike kangaroos or wallabies, with soft feet and evolved alongside the landscape, horses compact the soil, destroy native vegetation, and accelerate erosion.
Sensitive peatlands and alpine meadows, vital for water filtration and carbon storage, are being trampled into oblivion.
The damage doesn’t stop at the ground level. Brumbies degrade waterways by breaking down creek banks and stirring up sediment, which clouds streams and threatens aquatic life.
Native frogs, fish, and invertebrates are all feeling the impact. And as brumbies compete for food and space, they push out smaller, more vulnerable native animals, some already teetering on the brink of extinction.
There’s also a hidden danger: by creating dry, uneven ground cover, brumbies can alter how bushfires behave, potentially making them more intense and unpredictable.
A political and ethical tug-of-war
The recent outcry has reignited calls for change. Independent Member of Parliament Joe McGirr has introduced a bill to repeal the Wild Horse Heritage Act, arguing that the park’s ecological health must come first.
Environmental groups like the Invasive Species Council are backing the move, saying it’s time to treat feral horses like any other invasive species with population control, including culling if necessary.
Jack Gough, chief executive officer of the Invasive Species Council, acknowledged that culling is ‘unpleasant’ but insists it’s essential to prevent further destruction.
‘We have a choice to make: urgently reduce the feral horse population, or allow it to remain out of control and see our native wildlife pushed to extinction,’ he said.
The debate is fierce. Advocacy groups like the Australian Brumby Alliance and the New South Wales (NSW) Animal Justice Party are pushing for non-lethal solutions like rehoming and immunocontraception.
However, critics argue that these methods are too slow and expensive to address the scale of the crisis.
What’s striking is how much public and political opinion has shifted. When a petition to address the brumby problem was debated in the NSW Parliament, no voice in the lower house spoke against it.
‘People understand it’s difficult, they understand it’s not pleasant, they back the future of our native wildlife and Australian landscapes over protecting a feral animal in a national park,’ said Gough.
If McGirr’s bill passes, it will dissolve the current advisory panel and establish new wildlife management plans from 2027 onwards.
While Labor and Liberal politicians are expected to support the repeal, resistance may come from the Nationals and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party.
This isn’t just a local issue—the headwaters of the Murray, Murrumbidgee, and Snowy Rivers, lifelines for millions of Australians, begin in these mountains.
The health of Kosciuszko’s ecosystems affects water quality, biodiversity, and even the climate far beyond the park’s boundaries. For those who love Australia’s wild places, the brumby debate tests our values.
Have you visited Kosciuszko National Park recently? Have you seen the impact of brumbies firsthand, or do you have memories of wild horses from years ago? What do you think is the right balance between heritage and conservation?
We’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Join the conversation below and let us know: should brumbies stay, or is it time for a new chapter in the story of our national parks?
Also read: $350,000 kangaroo cull plan divides Australian park lovers
