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Canberra Today 19°/24° | Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Kosciuszko horse puts teen in hospital

Kosciuszko horses at Blue Waterhole

A TEENAGE boy, 16, was hospitalised after being kicked in the shoulder by a feral horse running through a campsite at Long Plain in Kosciuszko National Park last November, according to information released under a freedom of information request. 

Less than three weeks before, a younger boy, 10, was kicked in the shoulder by a feral horse, months after the NSW Government passed legislation that protects feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park under its Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act.

Freedom of information documents reveal the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is considering closing down the Blue Waterholes campground after a spate of incidents involving feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park.

A national parks and wildlife service risk assessment concluded there is a “high risk” of feral horse related injuries occurring at the campground. Horse incidents resulting in medical treatment and hospitalisation are rated by the parks service as “likely”, and single fatalities or serious injury are considered “possible”.

Richard Swain, who runs tours in the park and also heads up the Reclaim Kosci campaign, says people have complained about horses walking over the top of campers while they are sleeping in swags, galloping through campgrounds, raiding campers’ belongings and tangling themselves in tent guy ropes.

“Campers have had to sleep in their vehicles for fear of being trampled. One stallion chased a woman who had to hide in a bush until it left the area. Another incident involved stallions damaging a vehicle while fighting each other,” he says.

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Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

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