With the release of forensic photos taken in the Victorian Alpine Park of Brumbies that had been shot from what we believe to be a moving helicopter,  Brumby Action Group Inc initiated an investigation by RSPCA into allegations of gross cruelty and the Australian Brumby Alliance launched proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria, demanding an end to shooting Brumbies, in Victoria.

The photographs relied upon by Brumby Action Group, showed  the  trajectory rods,  which were used to reveal the direction from which bullets entered the brumbies' bodies  and was able to be proven that the shooting took place from above.

While stakeholders and the community are opposed to any Brumbies being shot, it was revealed as part of the forensic investigation that none of the Brumbies had been shot in compliance with Standard Operating Procedures. None of the Brumbies had been shot in the head to assure of a "humane" death, nor had the Brumbies been shot in the chest. Stakeholders had been objecting to the shooting for some time on grounds that the ground and aerial shooting proposed would not satisfy Standard Operating Procedures. Despite this, Parks Victoria endorsed by the Minister for Environment Lily D'Ambrosio proceeded with the cruel and inhumane shooting.

An in foal mare had been shot in the gut, had automatically aborted and would have died a long drawn out death. Her six month old dependant foal found near her side appeared to have been shot much later, a bullet to the chest which entered the body and exited through her back, indicating she may have been laying down next to her mother when shot. 

A stallion was found with a gun shot to his neck and wither, a mare nearby a single shot to the neck. Again, the use of trajectory rods confirmed shooting from above and both evidence of long drawn out deaths.

All of these Brumbies will have died long drawn out and cruel deaths.

Stakeholders and the community are calling upon the Andrews Government to end this cruel and barbaric practice of both ground and aerial shooting. 

We demand an immediate population count using a methodology that is reliable and that the St Andrews Method adopted by the Alpine Authority be abandoned immediately. We demand the Victorian and New South Wales Government lobby for this change. We must not accept what is allegedly "the best we have" when there are far better ways of conducting population counts.

Photos: Copyright Brumby Action Group. Lactating mare and her foal