Update on feral horses

Forest and Bird, Issue 280, 1 May 1996, Page 24

Update on feral horses

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OR MANY YEARS, few conservaissues seemed as intractable as the problem of the introduced "wild" horses of the southern Kaimanawa and their impacts on the vulnerable tussocklands of the central North Island. Conservationists despaired at the damage being done to the natural value of these important grasslands while horse lovers staunchly defended the rights of the herd to multiply and roam free. But in 1993 came a breakthrough. Using recent research by Geoff Rogers that documented the severe impacts of the horses on rare and vulnerable plants and fragile ecosystems, Forest and Bird prompted DoC to convene a working party of interested groups to find an enduring solution to the horse problem. Last December, after two years of inquiry, negotiations and 4,800 submissions, a

final Wild Horse Management Plan was produced and sent to the Minister of Conservation for his consideration. Forest and Bird supports the draft plan which removes the herd from the important ecological and wilderness areas, but takes into account the future welfare of the

horses by trialing the retention of a smaller herd in the southern area and relocating a herd to nearby heavily modified paddocks. (see Conservation News July 1995). At the time of writing, Mr Marshall had not yet approved the plan.