LEGAL action to prevent Parks Victoria's plans to "decimate" the wild horse population in Victoria's high country begins in the federal court in Melbourne on Monday.
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Late last year, the Australian Brumby Alliance successfully mounted a move to prevent Parks Victoria proceeding with plans to "manage to extinction" brumbies on the Bogong High Plans.
The ABA is hoping to maintain a wild horse population of around 150 to preserve their link to Australian heritage and folklore with horses living near Falls Creek direct descendants from breeding stock used to supply war horses.
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A similar attempt to cull brumbies in NSW was also stopped last year after the state government originally wanted to reduce the number of horses in the Kosciuszko National Park by 90 per cent over 20 years.
In a last minute ruling, the ABA and Parks Victoria agreed the government authority would remove no more than a specific mob of 15 brumbies which had moved into the adjacent Mt Nelse area of the high plans and no more than 200 brumbies from the eastern alps.
The ABA also wants Parks Victoria to have to firstly apply for approval from federal environment minister Sussan Ley before embarking on any culling activities.
"The ABA is comfortable with retaining managed numbers in their heritage areas," ABA president Jill Pickering said.
"This is not a protest issue.
"It is time for rational discussion and co-ordinated information exchange.
"We're certainly looking for a balanced outcome including a more comprehensive understanding of how brumbies interact in their environment rather just saying 'because they are introduced, they are bad'."
Parks Victoria couldn't be reached for comment, but member for Benambra Bill Tilley is behind the ABA.
"There are better ways to manage these horses, ways that are more humane than the indiscriminate shooting that has been authorised by Labor," he said.
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