The Hon Wendy Lovell MP, Member for Northern Victoria Region, Media Release

The Liberal Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell says an elected Matthew Guy Coalition Government will immediately cease the shooting of brumbies in both the Barmah and Alpine national parks.

Ms Lovell has been a strong advocate against the shooting of the brumbies, particularly in the Barmah Forest, on many occasions calling on the Andrews Labor Government to stop the culling and focus on trapping the horses for rehoming.

Parks Victoria had previously reached an agreement with the local Barmah Brumby Preservation Group to trap horses for rehoming, only to recently commence shooting in secret and hiding carcasses under bushes.

Ms Lovell said the Liberal Coalition policy will focus on rehoming and veterinary intervention to manage the brumby population, standing in stark contrast to Labor’s plan for total eradication.

The Liberals Coalition policy will involve:

• The end of Labor’s cruel plan of eradicating brumbies through aerial and ground shooting,
• A thorough and more accurate assessment of the brumby population,
• Population management methods that focus on rehoming and veterinary intervention; and,
• Liaison with New South Wales to coordinate efforts across state borders.

In parliamentary budget hearings recently, the Labor Government admitted that it was working towards “eradication [of brumbies] over the forward years”.

Governmental tender documents have also revealed that contractors who are employed by the Government to exterminate the brumbies are required to move carcasses to hide their controversial work from public view.

Ms Lovell said this was a direct contradiction to the previous agreement Parks Victoria had made with Barmah locals and showed Labor’s real intention to slaughter the brumby to extinction.

Comments attributable to Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell:

“An elected Matthew Guy Liberal Coalition Government will put an end to Labor’s inhumane shooting and total eradication of the brumby.

“The Andrews Labor Government knows that its brutal control measures are cruel and inhumane, admitting as much with its secret agreements and extreme efforts to hide massacred carcasses from public view.

“My Liberal Coalition colleagues and I agree with the tens of thousands of Victorians who believe brumby populations can be managed without cruel methods or total eradication and our policy will manage Victoria’s brumby population in a way that guarantees the welfare of animals.”

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