00:00The Barmer National Park is blooming and the reason is simple, the removal of feral horses.
00:10The understory vegetation has rebounded like no one has really seen before. This is amazing stuff.
00:19Since 2020, Parks Victoria has removed 711 feral horses from Barmer National Parks.
00:25Since then, one species in particular, moiragrass, has made a remarkable comeback.
00:32We believe we only had less than 5% left of what was present 80 years earlier.
00:39But despite its success, the Brumby Removal Program remains a divisive topic in the local community.
00:45The park is co-managed by Parks Victoria and Yorta Yorta Nation.
00:50But both organisations declined to be interviewed on camera to protect their staff from harassment.
00:56How have you been? Missed you.
00:58David Watson is a Professor of Ecology at Charles Sturt University and has been vocal about the removal of feral horses from national parks.
01:06I've got people in my research team are working on birds, on wetland birds in that system.
01:10And they've got to remove signage, like university signs from their cars before they go in.
01:14They're vilified, they're name-called, if they're staying at the pub, you know, stuff happens to their vehicle overnight.
01:21In a statement, Parks Victoria said Parks Victoria will continue its work towards the long-term goal of reducing the feral horse population in Barmer to zero.
01:30Mr Watson hopes over time the split in the community will heal.
01:34As the bush bounces back, everyone will get to see just what a wonderful place this is and start to realise that maybe horses are best in a paddock, not in a protected area.
01:43I think we're going to see some magical landscape change within the Barmer National Park over the decades to come.
01:51e.g.
01:59M a
02:02m a
02:09e
02:14a
02:16v
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