Photo James Marvin Phelps / Foter.com / CC BY-NC
“The global public is outraged that Australia would condone mass killings of wild horses. Are they killing off thousands of horses so they can frack the land for oil and natural gas? We ask that the heinous killings cease immediately.” ~Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs.
An aerial cull of wild horses is taking place in the Kimberley
As seen on ABC Australia
A survey of Lake Gregory and the Billiluna Pastoral Station two months ago found about 6,000 feral horses.
The Trust says the animals are a risk to the environment and public health, and to comply with the law they have to go.
The Trust says an aerial cull is the most humane way to do that and has employed shooters in helicopters.
A plan to cull feral horses in the same area in 2010 was abandoned after a backlash from animal welfare advocates.
The state Opposition’s Lisa Baker has called for the cull to stop immediately.
“There’s babies, there’s foals whose mothers are shot who starved to death,” she said.
“This is not a civilised way of managing a population of horses.”
Ms Baker says traditional owners want to manage feral horse populations in other ways.
“They’re really cognisant of the fact that some of them will need to be euthanised, put down, whatever, but there is many opportunities for tourism, for breaking the horses in, and for using them more productively,” she said.
The Aboriginal Lands Trust says traditional owners have been consulted.
The area’s former Indigenous Protected Area co-ordinator, Wade Freeman, says other options were considered and ruled out.
“Too costly and not humane at all,” he said.
“We even tried the option of darting and putting horses to sleep but when you’re looking at numbers of up to 10,000 it’s just not viable.”
Links of interest™:
Petition: Stop Killing the Brumbies! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/258/184/025/stop-killing-the-brumbies/
Original Article: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-30/aerial-cull-of-horses-to-take-place-in-the-kimberley/5057208
The Canning Basin in Australia’s isolated Kimberley may be one of the largest unconventional natural gas finds outside the United States. http://grenatec.com/canning-basin-natural-gas-and-australias-kimberley/
Aerial cull in Kimberley region of Australia http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/10/31/aerial-horse-cull-kimberley-region-australia/#axzz2jEuPty9A
Mixed news to Canning Basin decision: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-09/mixed-news-to-canning-basin-decision/4678898 “Shale gas fracking can’t be divorced from the risk of serious water contamination and serious air pollution.”
Western Australia introduces Canning Basin Development Bill: http://www.lngworldnews.com/western-australia-introduces-canning-basin-development-bill/
Canning Basin Bill marks new chapter of gas development: http://www.findlaw.com.au/articles/5183/canning-basin-bill-marks-new-chapter-of-gas-develo.aspx
Oilex expands onshore Canning Basin oil and gas acreage: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/49061/oilex-expands-onshore-canning-basin-oil-and-gas-acreage-49061.html
Oilex gets 2 blocks in Canning Basin: http://www.naturalgasasia.com/oilsex-expands-in-canning-basin-in-western-australia “According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Canning Basin has the largest unconventional hydrocarbon potential in Australia.”
Key Petroleum: Canning Basin focus to unlock shareholder value: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/30893/key-petroleum-canning-basin-focus-to-unlock-shareholder-value-30893.html
Hydraulic Fracturing in Australia’s Northern Territory Protect Mustangs Hydraulic_Fracturing_in_Australia_draft
Land Rights Controversy: The Case of the Australian Aborigines Protect Mustangs UP149.001.00009.00011.archival
Agreements, treaties, negotiated settlements project http://www.atns.net.au/default.asp
MAC_EP_AppendixKCulturalAndHeritageSubPlan
Petroleum Prospectivity of the Eastern Canning Basin, WA BRUMBY Canning_Prospectivity_Report_Final_Updated_July06
GASLAND 2: www.Gaslandthemovie.com
GASLAND 2 in Australia: