Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00045:body:0:p16
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00045
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 43937–46800

with exception of grazing trials for fuel load reduction in the Wonnangatta Valley. Where cattle have restricted access to the national parks, it is critical that key management options such as fencing, conditional licenses and enforcement are strengthened , as grazing continues in neighbouring state forests and on private lands and there is potential for cattle to stray from these areas into sensitive areas.

Australian soils and vegetation are very susceptible to the impacts of hoofed animals. In particular, Sphagnum is easily crushed and broken up by trampling and wallowing, both of which are inevitable around any water course where animals are liable to congregate on a regular basis. Cattle and horse hoof prints are especially enduring in Sphagnum cristatum at the edges of pools and streams (McDougall, 2007). Once the Sphagnum cover is lost, alpine soils and peat environments are very susceptible to desiccation, incision and soil erosion (Good, 1992). Trampling and wallowing cause channels to form in the disturbed Sphagnum and underlying peat, resulting in water exiting the landscape more rapidly than occurs in undisturbed bogs. The formation of channels is in turn detrimental to the fens associated with the bogs. Where Sphagnum cover has been impacted by non-native animals, these channels can result in the fens draining directly into the stream system.

Photo showing pugging damage from stock in bogs on the Nunniong Plateau, Victoria. Photo by Arn Tolsma.

Photo showing legacy of historic grazing damage (stream incision) in Alpine Sphagnum Bogs and Associated Fens at Betts Creek, Kosciuszko National Park. ©Kåren Watson.

4.5 Invasive Species - Fauna

Feral horses

In alpine, subalpine and montane areas of the Australian mainland, along with domestic stock, feral horses are the largest animals to impact on the ecological community and represent a threat that requires complex management strategies (O'Brien and Wren, 2002).

Feral horse populations in NSW and Victoria have been increasing at a rate that has outpaced active management. The number of feral horses in the Australian Alps national parks increased by approximately 20 per cent annually between 2003 and 2009 from an estimated 2,500 to 7,600 (Dawson, 2009). Worboys and Pulsford (2013) observed the direct impacts of a 'very large number of horses' and considered the damage to be comparable to the worst historic domestic grazing pressures that triggered the removal of stock from Kosciuszko National Park in the 1940s. Preliminary numbers from the latest aerial count of feral horses in April and May 2014 found that horse numbers increased in Kosciuszko National Park to 6,000 horses, an almost 50% increase since the last count in 2009 of 4,200 horse (AALC, in prep).

Feral horses are not currently present as a threat in Tasmania, nor considered an active