Feral horse

In Australia, there is an estimate of 300,000 feral horses.

They are particularly well adapted to arid and semi-arid regions, as they have few natural predators.

Feral horses are also able to travel up to 50km a day for food and water, which spreads their destructive impact.

Where they are found

Feral horses are found throughout most of the Northern Territory (NT), with the largest numbers:

• to the west of Alice Springs
• in the Gulf region
• in the Victoria River District
• to the south of Darwin as far as Katherine.

Impact

Feral horses cause major damage to the natural environment.

This can include any of the following:

• erosion of soil and waterways
• spread of weeds
• trampling of native vegetation
• eating native seedlings
• sedimentation of water bodies
• destruction of infrastructure
• competition with native animals and domestic cattle for resources
• spread of disease and parasites to domestic stock and native animals.

Management

Feral horses can be managed in a number of ways.

This includes any of the following:

• trapping or mustering to sell them commercially
• aerial culling - this is the most effective, environmentally friendly and humane way to remove large animals, though this needs to be done by someone with extensive training
• on-ground culling - this is humane and cheap, though it is limited to accessible areas
• fertility control - this is difficult to use on large numbers of feral donkeys and treatment needs to be repeated to be effective.