The government of Queensland, a northern Australian state, plans to slaughter 10,000 feral horses, also known as brumbies, saying that the wild animals are damaging fragile habitats in national parks.
The state government has instructed shooters to hide the bodies to conceal the extent of the cull. About 4,000 brumbies have already been shot in the Carnarvon National Park. "Brumbies are destroying freshwater springs, competing with native wildlife for feed and destroying habitat," said the sustainability minister Andrew McNamara. The plan will ensure that their population remains at a manageable level, he said. Animal rights activists have called the move inhumane and said fertility control should have been implemented long back.
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