Feral horse numbers surge in Kosciuszko national park after pause in aerial culling, survey shows | New South Wales
Feral horse numbers in Kosciuszko national park have soared, with new survey data estimating populations rising by the thousands after the New South Wales government halted aerial culling in 2025.
Conservation advocates say the recovery in numbers requires an urgent rethink of holding zones that allow thousands of horses to remain in the park.
The government’s annual wild horse population survey, released on Friday, estimates there will be between 6,476 and 16,411 wild horses in the national park by late 2025.
This is a sharp increase compared to the previous year (the first survey after the resumption of aerial shooting of horses), when numbers fell to an estimated 2,131-5,639 horses.
The culling of horses and other wild species in the park will continue in June.
NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the data confirmed the need for “ongoing management” to meet the legally mandated target of reducing wild horse numbers to 3,000 by mid-2027.
He said while there were early signs of ground cover and vegetation recovering in areas where horses had declined, overall numbers remained high and the damage wildlife was causing to Kosciuszko’s fragile mountain environment was clearly visible.
He said the government was exploring all options to control numbers, including appointing an independent expert to design a breeding control trial for horses in the park.
“Nobody wants to have to kill horses. But there are still a lot of horses in Kosciuszko national park,” Sharpe said.
“We will use the best available science and take a cautious, evidence-based approach to achieve the necessary population target to protect native flora, animals, waterways and cultural values.”
Jack Gough, chief executive of the Invasive Species Council, said the recovery in horse numbers showed the state government had not carried out any control work in 2025 and that culls would have to be carried out annually.
He also called for urgent changes to the province’s wild horse management plan for Kosciuszko national park. The plan calls for keeping at least 3,000 horses in four zones covering 32% of the park.
The zones were introduced by the previous Coalition government as a concession to the rough-and-tumble advocates the National Party demanded. Gough said the territories should be scrapped and the number of horses reduced to as low as possible.
He said that when parliament repealed the Kosciuszko wild horse heritage law last year, it gave the minister the power to change the plan.
“This is disappointing given the broad cross-party consensus that the government has still not scrapped these retention areas and the ridiculous 3,000 horse target,” Gough said.
This is a national park, not a horse paddock.
