Shooting of 'marauding stallions' sensible, says McCarthy

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 652, 3 September 1996, Page 1

Shooting of 'marauding stallions' sensible, says McCarthy

Shooting 13 Kaimanawa wild horses by the Army was "quite understandable and may indeed have been a sensible solution to a potential disaster" according to, John McCarthy, Taupo National Party candidate. Debate over the fate of the Kaimanawa wild horses needs "some balance", states Mr McCarthy, an Ohakune farmer, in a press release. "The combination of mares in season and marauding stallions is a potentially very dangerous situation for any humans who happen to be in the way," he said. "A large percentage of the bleeding hearts have probably only seen one in a paddock through their car window." He said he has experienced an attack by enraged stallions and seen the results on a 17 stone man's arm after a stallion picked him up and shook him "like a leaf '. "There are numerous well-documented stories of people being ripped

off their horses whilst out riding, there are similar tales of deaths resulting from such encounters." "Has society reached a stage where the potential safety of children is outweighed by the misplaced philanthropy of so-called animal lovers?" he asks. Mr McCarthy said while he was not in favour of the method of cull originally proposed by the Department of Conservation, there was no doubt that for the good of the horses, "ignoring every other aspect of this debate, there needs to be a reduction in the current numbers". "Anyone who really knows the area will say that observing the state of the horses now is not a pleasant experience. There is virtually no feed, the older horses and those with weaker constitutions are in shocking condition, a lot of the horses are exhibiting the symptoms of heavy, worm burdens, brought on by overcrowding and overgrazing," he said. Some needed culling and some needed relocating, said Mr McCarthy.