As they say, there are two sides to every story.
Feral horses are apparently a problem in Australia, just like North America.



Grizz

A less emotive account from another news source.

"Alex Laurisson from Killarney Station said the two people who allegedly killed the horses had been allowed to shoot feral animals on the property.

"They were supposed to just shoot a number of feral animals that had been agreed on, prior to them coming," she said.

"[The pair] were told they weren't to shoot within a certain area of the homestead and were also told that we had a lot of horses nearby that were very special to us.

"They were shown specifically where they were allowed to shoot, and the area that they have gone and shot, they had no permission."

"Darwin branch president of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia, Andrew Armstrong, has confirmed the two shooters were members, who were conducting pest control of feral animals in the area."

So its possible hunters got into the wrong paddock and culled 30 of the wrong horses. Not that is an excuse, but for international readers worth noting there are 400,000 feral horses in the NT which are all open season and a 'paddock' on stations this large can be 1000 acres of woodland. The property itself is 50% larger than the largest ranch in the US.

As to the severe loss and emotional hardship felt by the station- LOL, its owned by the Jumbuck Company, its land holdings are larger than the country of Denmark and the CEO has a net worth of 300 million.

Despite the various spin and angles of the story, it is clear to me that

1. When you get permission to shoot on a private property, be very careful to follow rules and instruction
2. Do not shoot anything that is not on the approved list - I am sure I would know the difference between a feral brumby and a horse that has been taken care of
3. If these guys were doing culling work, they must be pretty experienced
4. Irrespective of the owners and CEO, the staff are the people who actually have the personal relationship with the stock

Twenty some years ago I hunted with a guy
that had mistakenly shot a horse.
Cost him $900 too.
Oh yeah, in a wide open 20,000 acre pasture.

George

quote:

So its possible hunters got into the wrong paddock and culled 30 of the wrong horses.

Horses in a paddock cannot be feral!!??

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Despite the various spin and angles of the story, it is clear to me that

1. When you get permission to shoot on a private property, be very careful to follow rules and instruction

As long as instructions are communicated to all parties. One of the disputes ongoing is what permission was granted between 'directors' or 'management'... not uncommon to run into communication issues on properties this size. Ive been queried by staff on stations when I had cleared it through family members who just hadnt passed it on. Admittedly it doesnt always result in $500k fuck ups, but they can happen.

quote:

2. Do not shoot anything that is not on the approved list - I am sure I would know the difference between a feral brumby and a horse that has been taken care of

I have cleared horses and admit I dont know the difference between a prize winning stallion or well fed bush nag. A lot of guys dont either, especially at range, night or from vehicles. Usually you are relying on area instructions and both you and the property being aware of the same thing. Shooting 30 if its a heavily maintained pasture sounds like shooter error I admit.

quote:

3. If these guys were doing culling work, they must be pretty experienced

No indication this was work so far. Sounds more like recreational shooting/beneficial pest eradication agreement between hunters and someone at the station.

The SSAA representative making a comment is strange. This is just 30 dead horses, not a school massacre. Perhaps someone from the NT can advise whether they administer programs between hunters and the station?

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

So its possible hunters got into the wrong paddock and culled 30 of the wrong horses.

Horses in a paddock cannot be feral!!??

Depends on the land area involved Saeed and the use of the term. On large australian stations a paddock may mean a lot of acreage, not necessarily fully cleared, and also not necessarily with fences intact. Fencing divisions within 1.3 million acres is continual maintenance and when ferals are pushing around, you can find things which dont belong in different areas.

Again, not defending these guys, the 'paddock' may have been the owners personal stables for all I know.

I have no idea what is going on, but I do know anything inside a specific enclosure should not be shot, unless specifically asked.

Will someone screwed up for sure.

Its the reason I dont let any hunters who havnt been close acquaintances for a long long time hunt my place without me being there.
Excitement, not understanding instructions, Poor judgement, all number of factors make it a bad choice. Had some cops one day line up on some skyline pigs. "what are you doing?" I asked. The school was right behind those pigs.
A neighbour had some guys see a mob of goats go into a scrubby gully. They shot first black animal that came out other side, which turned out to be a 3 year old steer.

We have wild horses here in the Western United States in a number of places. In fact, right out of Las Vegas and within a few miles and 15 minutes of where I live, I can be into a herd of wild horses. Magnificent to watch those wild broomtails. But, don't harass or shoot any of them-because if you do, you'll spend some time in a federal lockup and a big fine. Federal laws govern their control and round-up. The raw emotions surrounding the killing of wild horses is greater among many people than those emotions exhibited against a mass murderer! Years ago, I knew some local cowboys who would take their horses to the west desert in Utah and chase wild mustangs, roping them and then releasing them after the chase. Today, you'd be behind bars for a long time doing that.

I did a 'shoot' with Bob Penfold years ago on a property that was ~1 million acres. Primarily it was for feral donkeys (donkies?) and we shot 606 of them in 4.5 days. Reminded me of an Argentina dove shoot. Also on the menu were camels, horses, hogs, water buffalo, scrub bulls, wild horses, some version of the kangaroos, dingos, and as it turned out; a couple king brown snakes including one that occupied our shower/outhouse. The only saddle horses we saw were in the paddocks close to the house. When we got ~50 kilometers from the 'station', everything was considered feral

P.S. I got a very proper charge out of a scrub bull...they were very sporty.