East Sussex UK advocate Angela Lemon is right to bemoan the fate of brumbies in the Kosciuszko National Park, but her suggestion that the 130,000 horses transported overseas during World War I spawned today’s large feral herd is untrue (Letters, 5/7). Only one horse, loved by Major General Sir William Bridges and named Sandy ever returned to Australia. But she is correct to be outraged. When transferred from Sydney to Van Diemen’s Land in 1806, Captain Brumby released his horses into the wild, giving his name to these precursors of the amazing quadrupeds of Banjo Patterson rhyme. Strangely, just as we have the highest population of camels in the world, most of our brumbies are also in semi-arid Northern Territory and Queensland. No culls are happening there. A challenging environment is proving less conducive to their proliferation without inhumane interventions. Their presence in southern national parks is a threat to local competing fauna and flora, aggravated by the absence of predators. Helicopter shoots, which by design will never end, leavers shooters, the NSW government and Australia with bad publicity, prompting unease among housewives in far flung British counties. A Man from Snowy River style muster might be the best solution, transporting herds to semi-arid areas away from fragile ecosystems and international headlines. Alan Sexton, North Parramatta 12July2026
