Victorian Brumby Running: An Insight

What is Brumby running? Not very much at all like the idealised scenes in the Man from Snowy River movie!

To give you an idea, each year, Parks Victoria offers a contract to tender to have Brumbies ‘run’ in the Alpine National Park to assist with managing the population. The contract is currently held by an organisation, which consists, for the most part, of people who care greatly about the High Country and also about Brumbies. Parks Victoria request that a certain amount of Brumbies are removed from certain areas of the Alpine National Park (ANP). The ANP covers 1.6 million acres; so of course, the Brumby Running is also very hard to control. The riders use dogs to find and chase the Brumbies, keeping them running until the riders can catch up with the fleeing horses. Brumbies are chased by riders, who are generally mounted on larger, hot blooded horses (such as Thoroughbred crosses) until they are in reach and can be roped. Younger Brumbies give up more quickly, whilst older ones become quite cunning, weaving through dense underbrush to avoid capture. This system leaves the young, weak, thin and pregnant most vulnerable and most likely to be caught. Once roped, the Brumbies are haltered and chased in front of the riders on a long lead line - so they still think they are running away - back to the campsite. Once at the campsite they are tied to trees while the riders go out to search out more Brumbies. This process can be repeated for up to three days. Once the weekend of Brumby running winds up, the contractors use a boat winch to drag the frightened horses onto the back of a ute with a stock crate. The Brumby’s heads are tied to one side and their tails to the other to prevent them moving around on the steep descent out of the remote areas they have been caught in. When they reach lower ground, the Brumbies are off loaded and dragged with another winch onto the truck that will take them back a holding property. At this point, the terrified and exhausted Brumbies are either sent direct to the knackery or yarded at the property until there are enough of them to make the knackery trip ‘worthwhile’. By comparison, in Guy Fawkes National Park in NSW, where aerial culling was outlawed in 2001, Brumbies are lured into trap yards using salt and / or Lucerne hay. The gates close automatically trapping the horses without fuss. Brumbies too young to travel or heavily pregnant mares are released immediately. The remainder are loaded through a loading ramp onto a specially modified truck to be transported to holding yards prior to being transferred onto another truck and delivered to the Save the Brumbies sanctuary in Armidale. Yes, catching any wild animal is an inherently stressful experience, but as you can see, stress can be minimised. Where Do Victorian Brumbies Go?
Brumbies are currently removed from the Alpine National Park under contract with Parks Victoria. Rather than the more humane method of passive trapping, the Victorian Brumbies are ‘run’ – hunted by dogs and riders and roped from horseback. The contract is held by an independent group who takes, as part payment for their efforts, the wild horses they catch. What happens then? The picture (right) is one of a Brumby yearling in a pen with other Brumbies. It was taken at the Bairnsdale horse sales just after this pen of four yearling Brumbies had been sold to the knackery, for a top price of $80 (for the group). This is where our Brumbies go – to be processed for pet meat. Now that is terrifying enough for a domestic horse, who is accustomed to fences, people etc. For a Brumby, I can only imagine how horrific this is. In 2007, the Victorian Brumby Association bought 101 Brumbies from the group who hold the contract for their removal. Of these Brumbies, more than thirty percent arrived in poor, thin or injured condition. We tried many times to discuss this with both Parks Victoria and also the contract holders and were met with total indifference each time. Cruelty is a very hard point to ‘prove’ and without proof – no one wants to know. We were told by the contractors that if we had problems, the Brumbies could just go to the knackery. In 2007, the VBA paid $15,150.00 for Brumbies and another $12,120 to transport those Brumbies to our sanctuary. On top of this, we are then faced with huge feed bills to rehabilitate many of them to a point where they can be rehomed. The main problem that we faced, was that no matter what we did, the situation was not going to change and by our actions (and with our chequebook), we were supporting the current treatment of Brumbies. Time for a really tough decision. The committee contacted both Parks Victoria and the contract holders and offered to take any Brumbies off their hands that they were happy to donate to us. We would no longer pay them to treat Brumbies in this way. As we feared but expected, our answer was an absolute lack of compassion from people who allege to care for Brumbies. Of all the members of the contract group, only one has contacted us and asked if we can take the Brumbies that they catch. Of course, we were delighted and will be taking these Brumbies. Parks Victoria has run several passive trapping trials over the past few years. In each case, they have had external contractors undertake this and have given the Brumbies captured to the contractors as part payment. It is easy to earn a quick buck at the knackery sales! RSPCA Victoria does not condone Brumby running as a humane method and nowhere else in Australia is this outdated and (by Parks Victorias own admission) ineffective method used for Brumby population control. By Parks Victorias own admission, the only reason they are not passively trapping more and running less Brumbies is because the contract holders have refused to do so. It seems that the Brumby runners control the relationship and the contract. The Victorian Brumby Association will continue to work with Parks Victoria in the hope of establishing an ‘in house’ passive trapping program such as those run successfully in NSW in Guy Fawkes, Armidale and Kosciusko National Parks. {sidebar id=3}We have offered to take all Brumbies removed from the Alpine National Park in this manner and are hopeful of a positive response from Parks Victoria on this issue. We would dearly love to see the end of Brumby running as a method of population control in Victoria. We have no issue with licensed people running a Brumby or two for their own purposes. When taken to extremes, such as in the Victorian system, it is clear that the Brumbies are the losers. Thanks to those who have been documenting Brumbies for us at terrible places such as the horse sales and the knackery. This information helps us in our fight to develop a sustainable and HUMANE method of Brumby population control in Victoria. Visit the Victorian Brumby Association