INTRODUCTION:
Brumbies are known as the feral horses that inhabit Australia- mostly throughout the Northern Territory, Queensland and scattered centrally in Western Australia. Some small mobs live within Victoria and New South Wales, but none as vast or dense in population. These horses influence the natural habitat in many ways- they reduce vegetation growth, cause soil erosion and impact upon other animals living within the ecosystem. They are seen as pests to national parks, and essentially, this is the reason for their culling- they cause more damage than they are worth. The only positive aspect a brumby herd will impose is that they maintain walking and driving tracks throughout state parks.
The brumby is a small stocky horse, standing at roughly 14.1 hands high, and is designed to cope with the harsh Australian environment. Each herd has different characteristics based on their individual locations, but overall, are recognisable as the wild horses of Australia.
Currently the main sources of population control for the brumby population is either culling or rehoming them through a series of steps. Within the media there has been outrages over the culling, in particular aerial shootings, which does not always provide accuracy in killing the horses nor seem to be the most humane option. There are more options available to control the ever-growing population, mainly through contraceptive methods which reduce foal numbers each year. Implementing these techniques requires careful planning but can be very effective when used, to in general, decrease herd numbers and allow the ecosystem to return to a somewhat natural state.
WHY BRUMBIES ARE AN ISSUE:
Brumbies are an issue for the natural habitat due to their invasive nature-
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...and the administration of GnRH. Although at the present point time the administration of these treatments, is not economically sustainable due to added time and cost factors it has been seen through long term studies that the use of these vaccines in the regulation of the reproductive cycles, of mares and stallions can provide a more sustainable and ethical method of control that reduces overall population of brumbies and herd sizes.
However, this approach has many challenges for which solutions have been elusive to date. Ideally, methods for contraception of wild horses should be safe and reversible, effective for several years, practical to administer and be of a reasonable cost and whilst having minimal effect on reproductive and/or harem behavior. This ensures the methods that are used to control the reproductive cycle are considered to be humane and ethical.
However, due to backlash from animal activist communities, the BLM is inconclusive on using lethal programs. One proposed solution would be to use contraceptives to add to the overproduction of feral horses. The contraceptive would be used in the form of darts that will help keep population down by decreasing the reproductive hormones in male horses. Using contraceptives would allow for a more humane regulating horse population.
Every year hundreds of sharks get killed just because people fear them. Western Australia has brought in the Shark Culls after a series of fatal attacks. Most of these people attacked are usually surfers, swimmers or shark haters. Now imagine this, what if you were a shark swimming and suddenly someone tries to hunt your down, how would you feel? We wouldn’t like it very much if the sharks did the same thing to us. In the following paragraphs, I would give you three reasons on why Shark Culling should be abolished not only in Western Australia but also all around the world.
The Hornsby Shire is geographically located along the north shore, running down to the coast of Brookyln surrounding up to the area of Epping, Sydney, covering 6000 hectares of public bushland. According to the 2012 Hornsby Council Statistics there is currently a population of 165090. Through the findings of historical culture, markings and landmarks the current society has understood the large existence of Aboriginals on the land. This local tribe of Aboriginals are the: Guringai people. “The Aboriginal heritage of the Hornsby Shire Region was at least 15000 to 20000 years old by the time European Settlers arrived in 1788.” (Hornsby Shire Council, n.d.). The Hornsby Council shows a high respect for this significant group, displayed through the ‘acknowledgment of country’ prior to meetings and public functions and the upkeep of the Guringai peoples traditional heritage and the ways in which there is a conjunction of care and dedication between the Aboriginals and the non-aboriginals.
The drug Premarin, a drug used to relieve symptoms of menopause in women, is made by harvesting the urine of pregnant horses. Premarin Farms, which are called PMU farms for short, are the site where this takes place. The mares are hooked up to rig that collects their urine throughout most of their pregnancy, which leaves them practically immobile. PMU farmers collect several different equine conjugated hormones found in the pregnant mares’ urine to make Premarin, which includes drugs such as Prempro, Premphase, Premelle, and Prempac. Some farms treat their horses with the upmost respect, and give them the proper vet care and food that they need, while on other farms, the horses are not quite that lucky. There have been allegations of the abuse of horses on these PMU farms for years, yet most farms haven’t been forced to change their horrible ways.
Estimates are that at the turn of the twentieth century over two million wild horses roamed free in the western United States. However, having no protection from their primary predator, man, by the 1970’s there numbers had dwindled to less than thirty thousand. In 1971, after a massive public uproar, Congress by a unanimous vote enacted the “Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act” (Act) that characterizes wild horses and burros as national treasures and provides for their protection.
The use of horses for human consumption dates back to the earliest use of animals for human consumption. Horses are used for food in many counties but are also considered inhumane in other countries. In the United States specifically, horsemeat is not the norm for consumed meat. There seems to be a problem that has arisen. It is suspected that horses being slaughtered at horse slaughtering factories are not the most up to date, pain free for the horse, and human as people suspect them to be like beef kill floors. There are many pros and cons to horse slaughter that accompany the pressure groups on each side of horse slaughter. Another big controversy with horse slaughter is the argument of legalizing horse slaughter and what those details will entail in the law.
...h apparently did not prevent transmission of T. equigenitalis (Erdman et al., 2011). With the exception of one, all other stallions were infected with T. equigenitalis indirectly via handling or contaminated fomites at breeding or collection facilities (Erdman et al., 2011). According to Erdman et al. (2011), this outbreak saw the largest number of horses that tested positive for the disease since the first outbreak in 1978. The source of the outbreak was most likely determined to be a stallion imported from Denmark in 2000 that had not been detected positive for T. equigenitalis neither upon pre-import testing in the country of origin nor quarantine testing in the United States (Erdman et al., 2011). The importation of this stallion in the United States subsequently led to subsequent transmission of infection between the years 2004 and 2009 (Erdman et al., 2011).
A growing issue in the world today is the use of antibiotics and growth hormones in animal production industry. However, for over sixty years Americans have been exposed to hormones on a regular basic when they consume beef. (Organic Consumer Association) On average eighty percent of all feedlot cattle are given hormones to help them grow at an increased rate. (Communication Foundation) “In 1988 the European Union banned the use of all hormone growth promoters.” (Organic Consumer Association)
Upon further research of horse sterilizers and rape, the name that came up most often was Progesterex. A site search of Progesterex on www.webmd.com (a health service page) resulted in zero finds, with suggestions for progesterone, which is a naturally occurring hormone in women that prepares the uterus for pregnancy.
"Animal Research Alternatives" The American Anti-Vivisection Society. N.p., 21 Jan. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
More times than not, stallions mount dummies because horses are much less docile in reproductive situations than cattle are. In most situations, artificial insemination is also safer for the humans involved in the process as well. Though we consider horses are the most-likely to be considered companion animals out of all the livestock that we have domesticated thus far, they are also one of the most dangerous when it comes to mating and copulation. Mares and fillies are much more likely to try to fight back when being mounted than cows or heifers are. In commercial situations, such as the thoroughbred industry, this causes lots of problems. While it is still done, it is much less likely for owners to turn out the stallions with a herd of mares
domestic horses (equus caballus). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(3), 947-951. doi:10.1073/pnas.0809127105
If these problems could be eradicated it could save a lot of time and money for the farmers. The use of antibiotics and hormones before the livestock actually catches
In Australia feral cats cover up about 99.8% of the Great Sandy Desert. The research shows that the total amount of feral cats in the desert is much lower than the previous years of feral cats in the Great Sandy Desert. Agencies are responsible for managing cat populations and would enable better planning for baiting, trapping, shooting or other eradication programs (Legge). A recent researcher announced a plan to kill around two million feral cats in the Great Sandy Desert, and plan on killing more as the years go on and the population of feral cats gets higher. Feral cats are responsible for the extinction of about 20 native Australian species. They are the single biggest threat to our native animals,
In Boyle's article her suggestions for animal growth is a case in where challenges have to be face in some point in life but that doesn’t define the beauty of an animal because every species is a large. number that has been instinct. Animals are something humans need to admire but in time of crisis something needs to be done for the human safety. Giving it out a quality of emotions within the context of animal birth control.