By Miklos Bolza in Sydney

There is a public interest in the mass shooting of wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park despite opponents’ claims the practice is inhumane and unlawful, a court has been told.

The NSW government started the aerial culling of brumbies in March with the aim of reducing a population of around 18,000 horses to 3000 by June 2027.

But the pro-brumby Snowy Mountains Bush Users Group has taken the state government to the NSW Supreme Court in a bid to stop the shooting until a judge determines whether the practice is legal.

“Aerial shooting is being carried out in a way that is unlawful and is causing pain and suffering to these animals,” the group’s barrister, Oliver Jones, told Justice Ian Harrison on Thursday.

The culling involves the use of semi-automatic rifles shot from helicopters, with multiple hits often required to take down an animal, the court was told.

Mr Jones said horses would optimally be shot in the head to minimise pain, but the animals were instead being hit elsewhere with non-fatal wounds.

Justice Harrison asked how the group could want to preserve threatened species in the park while still calling for wild horses to roam free, given the environmental damage they caused.

Mr Jones said his clients were in favour of humanely removing horses from the park while still keeping some because of their heritage value.

The state government had received around 11,000 submissions from the public with only 18 per cent opposing the aerial shooting, the court was told.

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe allowed the culling in October 2023 after being given a summary of these submissions and expert reports that was “not accurate, complete or fair”, Mr Jones argued.

The document falsely claimed that sending helicopters to kill horses in hilly, highly vegetated areas of the alpine national park was better than or at least equivalent to other methods when it came to animal welfare, he said.

Mr Jones said expert reports contradicted this by saying humane culling could only take place in flat, open areas so the animals could be easily spotted and shot.

Julie Wright, representing the government, said the bush users’ group did not have standing to bring the lawsuit as they did not necessarily represent the public’s interests.

“The horses’ impact on the Kosciuszko National Park may be the crucial factor causing extinction of certain species,” she said.

“That speaks loudly to the public interest in the aerial shooting operations continuing.”

Around 5000 horses are estimated to have been killed since March, she said.

RSPCA auditors and independent vets did not observe any breaches of animal-cruelty laws during the shootings, the court was told.

Almost all observed animals had been shot at least three times in the thorax, where the bullets fatally penetrated the heart or lungs, Ms Wright said.

The advice given to the minister was not incomplete or inaccurate, she argued, saying that it merely suggested incorporating the culling into any future plans.

Justice Harrison said he would deliver his decision as swiftly as possible.