A shroud of secrecy remains over the way Parks Victoria is trying to manage the removal of wild brumbies from Barmah National Park.
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The department has conducted shooting operations in the park without warning the public or closing down the parts of the park affected.
However, Parks Victoria will not disclose details of the operations, citing concerns that people opposed to the program will try to interfere.
Parks Victoria has refused to answer questions about the program, but has provided some documents when forced to do so through Freedom of Information.
Parks Victoria has apparently tried to secretly introduce a shooting cull at the same time as trying to trap brumbies for re-homing.
The Barmah Brumby Preservation Group, a volunteer organisation which has developed a brumby sanctuary at Picola, has been trying to engage with Parks Victoria, to offer re-homing services, but the group says Parks Victoria has been unable to deliver the horses and refuses to seek assistance from the group.
The trapping has been unsuccessful, according to Country News sources within the district.
From the meagre details released to Country News, it appears Parks Victoria has acknowledged that 14 animals were shot in May.
A document dated May 11, 2022 notes “seven animals despatched”, followed by a reference to “despatching a further seven target animals”.
The document further states “14 target animals despatched for shift”.
The same document states it was a “sitrep (situation report) at end of shift”.
Barmah residents opposed to the cull have told Country News this is obviously a reference to the 14 horses found shot in the forest late in May.
Parks Victoria says they don’t disclose “operational details such as timing and location of feral horse control operations” to protect the safety and welfare of Parks Victoria staff, contractors and community members.
However, Parks Victoria is currently conducting shooting culls of feral deer on Mt Buffalo and has advertised the locations and dates on its website and on signs posted in the parks.
Country News is not aware of any of these actions being taken to protect the public in the case of Barmah.
A Freedom of Information officer for the department made the following comment when refusing to give details of the Barmah cull:
“Disclosure of this information would also be against the public interest in consideration of the degree of sensitivity of the issues discussed in the documents and the broader context giving rise to the creation of the documents.
“The implementation of the Strategic Action Plan has involved a highly contentious public debate which has led to increased public scrutiny and threatening behaviour from members of the public towards Parks Victoria staff.
“Thus, release of the exempt information would prevent Parks Victoria from protecting the physical and mental well-being of its staff when carrying out their duties.
“Furthermore, it would also inhibit Parks Victoria from preventing members of the public from engaging in dangerous and unlawful interference of these operations, which involve the use of firearms.”
The department could not explain how the public will be protected when there is no notice given of when shooting operations are being held.
The controversy over the management of brumbies in the forest has been coming to a head over the past decade.
Parks Victoria Parks says it has an obligation to control invasive species in the Barmah National Park, including feral horses, which cause long-term and large-scale damage to native plants and animals, many of which occur nowhere else in the world.
“The conservation threats and pressure in Barmah has been exacerbated in recent years by damage from feral horses, deer and other feral animals, accelerated impacts of climate change and the limited progress of previous feral horse management methods,” a Parks Victoria spokesperson said in June.
“There are large numbers of feral horses in the Barmah area and the damage they cause is evident.”
The Barmah Brumby Preservation Group believes the horses have occupied the forest for more than 100 years and they have become part of the forest.
They agree that numbers should be controlled, but argue for trapping and re-homing.
To this end they have developed a property where the brumbies can be retrained for eventual re-homing.
The numbers of brumbies in the forest is not exactly known, but both sides agree there are more than 200.
The FOI process
Under the 1982 Freedom of Information process, anyone can ask a government department for access to documents they hold, however there are numerous exemptions, and the departments can delete sections of the document which they release.
In May, Country News was given photographic evidence of dead brumbies, with the carcases abandoned in the forest of Barmah National Park.
On June 7, Country News asked Parks Victoria a series of questions about the management of Barmah National Park and how they were managing the removal of brumbies.
The spokesperson for the department provided general remarks about the policy of dealing with feral animals but refused to answer questions on any details and simply referred the Country News to their website. (The list of unanswered questions is covered on this page.)
When Country News persisted, the Parks Victoria representative referred Country News to the FOI process, which takes several months.
Country News lodged an FOI request on June 15, which was amended several times in consultation with the FOI officers. Country News granted an extension to the time provided to deliver the documents, by agreement.
The three documents approved for release were delivered on October 28, four months after the initial request.
The documents released are now available on the Country News website.
Country News has appealed the refusal to release some documents, to the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner.
The questions Parks Victoria refused to answer:
- Is Parks Victoria conducting a cull of brumbies in the Barmah National Park?
- If not, is there some explanation for the sudden deaths of so many (estimated at 30-plus) horses being found in the park?
- If so, how many head have been culled?
- How long with the culling continue?
- Has the culling achieved the 100 target for this year?
- Was the park closed for the culls?
- Will the cull continue into next year?
- What safety measures were taken to protect visitors to the park?
- Why have the bodies been left in the park?
- I understand the joint management plan calls for attempts to be made to trap and re-house the brumbies. How many have been trapped and moved in this current financial year?
- Is Parks Victoria continuing to attempt trapping this month (July)?
Shepparton News assistant editor and Country News journalist