I care deeply about native wildlife *and* care about the welfare of Brumbies. I can acknowledge that horses have an environmental impact (as dones every animal on the planet) *and* look into how much impact that actually is. Asking for real, transparent statistics doesn't seem too much to ask.

Maybe those who blindly support the cull haven't really envisioned the horror that entails. Who would choose a painful, terrifying death for any living being? And choose that over humane management purely because it is a bit cheaper? That has nothing to do with native wildlife.

And whether you want Brumbies in the wild or not, I struggle to think that anyone in their right mind could want that.

I personally believe Brumbies belong in the wild. In the same way that I hike the mountains and camp in the forests, I belong to this beautiful country I was born into as well. But that is beside the point of whether horses should be humanely managed.

So, can we protect the environment without abandoning compassion? The answer is yes.

All it requires is for people to care about animal welfare, and not just lap up whatever is poured out for you, especially when the ones doing the pouring are the real ones decimating the landscape and threatening native species.

Hoof prints don't even come close to comparing to the impact of many thousands of acres of cleared land (including 2450 acres of threatened species habitat in one area of KNP alone), mass infrastructure and toxic contamination.

Slapping on a label of "feral" doesn't mean that animal is any different to the one the same government officially labelled as "Heritage" a few years before. But people can sometimes hear a word and change their entire perspective and level of compassion around it.

If nothing else, let's all think for ourselves. Hopefully for most, that includes kindness and compassion. Wanting to put an end to suffering is not radical.