Throughout June, thousands of wild brumbies — mares, foals, and stallions — are being shot from helicopters in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales, Australia. The New South Wales government calls it a cull. Animal welfare advocates around the world call it a massacre.

Brumbies are woven into Australia's national identity. These wild horses have roamed the continent for generations and are cherished by millions of Australians as living symbols of their country's heritage and history. Yet right now, while areas of the park are closed to the public to limit scrutiny, helicopters are hunting them down from the air.

Aerial shooting is not humane wildlife management. It causes fear, panic, and prolonged suffering. Foals are orphaned. Horses are wounded and left to die slowly. And it is happening with limited transparency — park closures are actively preventing the public from witnessing what their government is doing in their name.

Humane alternatives exist. Fertility control programs, relocation, and rehoming have all been proposed by advocates as workable solutions that address population management concerns without resorting to mass killing. Other countries manage wild horse populations without aerial slaughter. Australia can too.

We're calling on New South Wales Premier Chris Minns and the NSW government to immediately suspend the aerial shooting program and commit to pursuing humane alternatives — fertility control, relocation, and rehoming — before thousands more brumbies are killed.