Australia sends in helicopters to shoot wild horses from the air to protect 'indigenous plants'
Helicopters will be sent in to shoot wild horses from the air under a controversial culling scheme in Australia.
Authorities in New South Wales are preparing to launch the controversial programme in the Snowy Mountains region this week.
The brumbies, as the feral horses are known locally, have been classified as an invasive species by the state Government.
But animal welfare campaigners have denounced the programme as "completely barbaric".
Kosciuszko National Park will serve as the focal point for the equine air strike operation.
The mountainous parkland spans around 2,700 square miles of rugged alpine terrain.
Brumbies have roamed this landscape for over 200 years, descended from horses that escaped or were abandoned by early European settlers.
The animals first reached Australian shores aboard the First Fleet in 1788.
They subsequently became integral to the nation's frontier expansion and became Australian icons in their own right.
The animals feature prominently in literature and cinema, most notably in Banjo Paterson's celebrated poem The Man From Snowy River.
While brumby name itself carries historical significance - one theory traces it to Sergeant James Brumby, who released his horses into the wild during the early 1800s following his transfer to Tasmania.
Another explanation suggests it derives from booramby, meaning "wild" in the Aboriginal Bidjara language.
Current estimates place the brumby population somewhere between 6,000 and 16,000.
Officials aim to reduce numbers to 3,000 by the middle of next year to protect indigenous plant life.
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Conservationists have called on NSW to call off the shooting programme.
They argue the approach is "inhumane, lacks transparency and ignores the cultural and historic significance of brumbies to many Australians".
An online petition opposing the cull has garnered roughly 220,000 signatures.
Gabriela Black, who established the Cooma brumby sanctuary, has been particularly vocal in her criticism.
"It is so inhumane to shoot these horses from the air, leaving them to die slowly and painfully," she told the Sydney Daily Telegraph.
The state's Environment Department maintains that robust scientific data supports claims the horses damage the environment.
Parks and wildlife authorities have confirmed the aerial operation will proceed until the end of the month.
"While there are early signs of groundcover and vegetation recovery in areas where horse numbers have been reduced, numbers remain high and the damage wild horses cause remains evident across many parts of the park," a spokesman told the newspaper.
Alternative population control measures under consideration include capture and relocation programmes, as well as contraceptive darts.
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