Brumby shooting facts for kids

Brumby shooting is when people shoot wild horses, called "brumbies," in Australia. This has been happening since the 1800s and still goes on today. The word "brumby" was first used around the 1870s.

People shoot brumbies for many reasons. They might need more land and water for farm animals. Sometimes it's for sport. It also helps keep big farms running. Shooting brumbies can reduce damage to the environment. It helps control diseases and prevents accidents on roads.

Brumby shooting became a big business from the 1870s to the mid-1890s. It was even written about in poems and books. It also became a popular hobby. Some people think there are over one million wild horses in Australia today.

Why Brumbies Became a Problem

Horses first came to Australia in 1788. They were used for farming and other work. By 1800, about 200 horses had arrived. Only the strongest horses survived the long sea trip. This meant they were healthy and grew well in Australia.

From 1820 to 1860, the number of horses in Australia grew very fast. It went from about 4,000 to over 430,000. This was a 12.5% increase each year! We don't know exactly when the first wild groups of brumbies appeared. But once they were wild, their numbers grew even faster. More horses escaped or were set free, adding to the wild herds.

In 1840, people reported many wild horses in the Botany colony. By 1843, wild horses and cattle were causing problems in New South Wales (NSW). In 1844, a German explorer named Ludwig Leichhardt saw wild horses far from any farms.

In 1850, a newspaper called The Perth Gazette said wild horses were a "nuisance." They thought it was a big problem for horse breeders. They suggested that shooting brumbies was the answer.

Some wild horses were caught and sold. But they didn't sell easily. In 1854, The Sydney Morning Herald said that sale yards were full of "miserable animals." Good horses sold well, but wild ones were "of no use whatever."

By this time, wild horses were everywhere in the colony. In 1854, thousands of wild horses were reported in New England. In 1860, people thought 100,000 wild horses in NSW was a low guess. Wild horses and cattle drank all the water from shallow waterholes. This happened between the Darling River and Lachlan River. It was also reported in mountains and near the Upper Shoalhaven. In 1864, hundreds of brumbies were seen near the Murray River.

The growing number of wild horses was not welcome. A letter in a newspaper said wild horses were "worthless." They caused prices of farm horses to drop. They also ate all the grass needed for other animals. People even thought about boiling down wild horses to make glue, leather, or meat for export.

Wild horses were also linked to social problems. A report in 1870 said that chasing wild horses taught young men how to steal cattle. This was seen as a bad influence on young people in remote areas.

Laws About Brumbies

On June 20, 1865, the NSW Impounding Act was passed. This law allowed landowners to destroy unbranded horses or cattle on their land. Before this, the only way to deal with unwanted animals was to take them to a public animal pound.

When the law was discussed, politicians agreed it was needed. John Robertson, who was in charge of lands, called wild horses "a perfect nuisance." He said shooting them would help use the land better. It would also create jobs and provide meat for pigs.

Money Matters and Brumbies

In 1866, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that wild cattle and horses made most farms worthless. Men always carried a rifle to kill any wild animal they saw. It said that trying to tame these horses was a waste of time because they couldn't be trusted.

Feeding Pigs with Brumbies

In 1868, a newspaper called Manaro Mercury looked into the idea that wild horses were only good for feeding pigs. It found this was "the prevailing opinion" in the area. The story said this was a common practice for wild horses sold at government pounds. A similar story appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald in 1871. In 1921, an old settler remembered that "the country was run over by wild horses, which were sold to feed pigs at 12 for a shilling."

Horse Breeding and Brumbies

At this time, there was a good market in India for NSW horses. These horses were called Walers from 1846. Most horses sent to India were top-quality thoroughbreds. Some lower-quality horses were also sent. This threatened the good reputation of Walers. Horse traders didn't want brumbies exported because it would hurt Australia's horse trade.

Horse breeders in the 1860s asked for a tax on female horses. This money would help "improve breeding" and destroy brumbies. Alexander Bruce, a stock inspector, wrote that Australia's horses had become a "mongrel race" due to mixed breeding.

Brumby Shooters

Newspapers in the 1870s described the tough lives of professional brumby shooters. They did unpleasant work from morning until night. They had no comforts and were not paid well. It was a new job. Killing what was once seen as a noble animal for its hide and hair was a big change. One shooter said it was "nasty work." But it helped landowners who might otherwise lose everything.

Brumby shooters soon became very busy across the country. They were in a "war of extermination." Over time, brumby hunting became a popular hobby. Young men from towns would go in groups to hunt brumbies on Sundays and holidays. By 1895, the killing was a full industry. A hide brought 6 shillings, and many professional hunters were employed. Hunting, along with more settlements, reduced the brumby problem in the early 1900s. But they were never completely gone. Their numbers would grow again, making organized shooting necessary.

Women also joined the shooters, sometimes leading groups or working with their husbands.

By the mid-1930s, the demand for horses went up. Some brumbies were caught and sold. The best animals were kept for farm work. Unhealthy or inbred horses were killed. The rest were sold.

Brumbies were still a problem in the early 1950s. Brumby shooting became popular again. But there weren't enough experienced shooters or suitable bullets for a big cull. People hoped higher prices for horsehair and hides would attract hunters. They also asked the government for help.

In 1947, a farmer named E. A. Brooks suggested using airplanes to shoot brumbies. He said ambushing them at water sources wasn't enough to get rid of them. A few years later, skilled shooters in helicopters were used. They worked together to chase and destroy entire groups of brumbies.

In the 1960s, cattle farmers in high grazing areas did a lot of culling. They cut the number of brumbies in some places by half.

In the 21st century, brumbies are still shot from helicopters. This is part of organized culls in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Other wild animals like donkeys, pigs, and buffalo are also culled this way.

Famous Hunts and Shooters

• In the first half of 1871, 1,527 brumbies were shot east of the Bogan River. Similar numbers were expected on the west side.
• Alexander Ryrie, a farm owner, killed about 1,400 brumbies in two and a half years.
• Edward Corbett and William Ellis shot 1,500 brumbies on a farm in 1872–1873.
• The Green brothers collected 25,000 horse hides over a few years. This was from the mountains around Oberon.
• Many thousands of brumbies were killed each year on a farm near the Dawson River.
• Over 8,000 brumbies were trapped and shot in one summer season in the 1890s at Eurombah.
• Ben Supple was a famous hunter. He was known for getting rid of many brumbies at Walra station.
• In the mid-1890s, J. Nixon led a group that shot nearly 3,500 brumbies in eighteen months.
• The Brisbane Courier reported in 1924 that brumbies were a big problem in the Cape York Peninsula. Mr. Massey and his son had killed 964 brumbies. Massey said there were "easily a couple of thousand more running wild."
• In 1927, a newspaper reported that a shooter killed 2,000 brumbies in a season.
• In 1930, a "brumby menace" was reported. Some brumbies were said to be from animals set free when a soldier settlement was abandoned.
• The government changed a law to allow the destruction of these animals. Brumby shooting was limited to four months a year in certain areas. Newspapers reported "open season" on brumbies. More hunts were allowed through the mid-1930s.
• By the mid-1940s, brumbies were again a serious problem. At one farm, 4,000–5,000 brumbies had been shot, but it didn't reduce their impact. In 18 months, 8,000 brumbies were shot along the Cooper River.
• In 1949, brumbies entered the eastern suburbs of Sydney. They damaged gardens and fences. Residents asked the police to shoot the animals because there was nowhere to hold them.

Current Issues with Brumbies

Road Safety

Car accidents involving horses have happened in Australia since the 1920s. A study in the 1990s found that over 5 years, 24 deaths involved "stock" (which could include horses). 13 deaths involved a "horse/large animal."

Wild horses were shot after two deadly accidents happened in 2015. These were near the Bruce Highway north of Townsville. A report said that a plan to cull wild horses was approved in 2006–07. But it was stopped after protests from animal-rights groups. Moving the animals was too expensive and risky. After the deaths, aerial culls and ground shooting removed 203 horses from the forest.

Each road death costs the Australian economy over $4 million.

Disease Control

The 2007 Australian equine influenza outbreak showed that new diseases are a big threat to Australia's horse industry. Other horse diseases happened in 1977, even with Australia's strict quarantine rules. Diseases in wild horses could harm the country's horse industry. This industry was worth $6.3 billion in 2001.

Wild horses can also carry diseases that threaten beef and dairy cattle. Wild horses were shot as part of a plan to get rid of cattle tick in NSW. Cattle tick is a serious parasite for Australian cattle. NSW was later declared free of cattle ticks.

Horses can also carry brucellosis. Thousands of brumbies were gathered in the far north in the 1980s. This was part of a program to get rid of brucellosis and tuberculosis. Brumbies that couldn't be gathered were shot from helicopters. The world agreed that the disease was gone by 1989.

Protecting Nature

Wild horses have a big impact on their environment. They affect plants, water sources, and soil. They also compete with native animals for food and water. Early farmers noticed this damage. Horses ate grass very short, leaving the soil open to erosion. They also packed down the soil, making it harder for water to soak in. This could permanently damage grasslands and other habitats.

Cultural Impact

Wild horses damaged Indigenous heritage sites in Carnarvon National Park. They licked artwork and raised dust.

Controlling wild horses in national parks has been difficult because of politics. A summary of this history is in a report from the "National Feral Horse Management Workshop" in Canberra in 2006.

Should Brumbies Be Protected?

People disagree about whether the brumby is a cultural symbol or a pest. Some see it as a pest, like the rabbit, which has also been targeted for removal.

The idea that brumbies have special heritage value has been studied. Scientists looked at 36 horses, including some from the Guy Fawkes River National Park (GFRNP) and some called Walers. They found that neither group was "genetically unique." This means they were not a special, pure breed. They were the result of many different horses being introduced over time. A study of brumbies in Barmah National Park found that most came from horses released by a local breeder after 1952. There was no large, long-term group of wild horses in the park before this date. This showed that claims about their special genes and history were not true.

Brumbies in Stories

In 1877, newspapers told a story about a brumby hunt. This story might have inspired the famous poem The Man from Snowy River. It described J. R. Battye, who was on a hunt during his holidays. His group found some brumbies. As they chased them, the bridle came off Battye's horse. With no control, he made the horse go faster. It followed the brumbies over rough land with many trees and holes. He caught up to them, getting close enough to shoot.