An investigation has found significant failures in the NSW government’s brumby rehoming program are to blame for the death of more than 250 horses at an alleged illegal knackery in the Riverina.
In April, more than 500 horse carcasses were found in various states of decay at a property near Wagga Wagga.
Some of the horses are believed to have been brumbies, rehomed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) program, which is part of government efforts to reduce wild horse numbers in Kosciuszko National Park to 3,000 by 2027.
After the carcasses were found, the government suspended the rehoming, and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) launched an investigation into the program.
It found NPWS failed to properly review the rehomer’s application, which was incomplete, or perform due diligence on the information that was supplied.
The NSW Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe, said the report showed the application process needs to be more rigorous.
“The Wagga case exposed a gap there, where it really hadn’t been checked on in terms of what was happening with the horses that were being provided to that individual,” she said.
“We want to tighten that up.”
The report found NPWS failed to properly check if wild horses were alive after they were rehomed at the Wagga property, a process called “fate returns”.
NPWS kept providing the Wagga rehomer with wild horses despite receiving fate returns for only 43 out of the total 301 horses he received, which the report said was a breach of its own guidelines.
“People participating in the rehoming program need to fulfil their responsibilities,” Ms Sharpe said.
“National Parks and Wildlife Service needs to make sure that they follow up and follow the procedures.”
That investigation found the person behind the alleged knackery received 28 per cent of all the horses rehomed under the program since 2021.
‘Red flags’ missed
The report made four key recommendations, including that NPWS needed to better communicate with other agencies.
A NSW Upper House inquiry into the aerial shooting of wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park recently heard evidence that RSPCA inspectors visited the property on three occasions in late 2023 and early 2024.
RSPCA chief executive Steven Coleman told that inquiry the inspectors failed to inspect the full property, missing the extent of the horse slaughter, and then failed to notify any other agencies of the allegations.
“There were red flags across a number of different agencies that never were pulled together,” Ms Sharpe said.
“I think we just need to fix that. I think that’s one of the easier things for us to do.”
‘Two-fold’ takeaway
Lynette Sutton is a brumby rehomer based at Berrigan, and said the review is an “acknowledgement of [NPWS] failing their own processes”.
“Hopefully it will see the road forward with rehoming where incidents like Wagga don’t happen again.”
Ms Sutton has rehomed more than 200 wild horses from across the country since 2010, including from Kosciuszko National Park.
She’s been critical of the government’s decision to halt rehoming during the investigation while continuing aerial culling.
“The reactive response was to penalise rehomers,” she said.
“We work very hard, and have wonderful support from Australian people, to make sure we’re doing the right thing by rehoming. You can’t class what happened at Wagga as a rehomer.”
“Most rehomers are doing a damn good job.”
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is responsible for NPWS, and said it accepted the report’s recommendations.
Ms Sharpe said the rehoming program will restart within the next four weeks, and remains an integral part of reducing wild horse numbers.
The NSW Upper House is expected to hand down a report soon as part of its inquiry into aerial shooting in Kosciuszko National Park.
