THE international equestrian community has launched a fund to support Australian fire relief. Over one billion animals of all species have been wiped out or severely affected by the enormous wildfires, according to experts at the University of Sydney.

The human death toll continues to mount with hundreds of people still missing and still the fires burn.

The Equestrian Fire Relief Australia Fund (EFRA) has been set up for donations (www.equestrianfirerelief.com.au).

Among the international riders acting as ambassadors to spread the word about the new fund is Carlow’s Sam Watson.

Watson said: “Reading about the fires has been awful but imagining if it was our farm and our horses is a devastating thought. When the going gets tough, the equine world gets going. This is what we do, we take action and we help horses, wherever they are and for whatever reason, they need our help.”

Meanwhile, it’s emerged that thousands of feral camels as well as feral horses will be shot from helicopters in South Australia as a result of ongoing extreme prolonged drought and heat.

Many horses have been found dead around dried-up water holes over the last year and the situation is now so desperate, camels and horses are becoming a pest and a threat to both rural farmers and village dwellers, roaming streets and raiding their scarce water supplies. Between January and November 2019, Australia experienced its second warmest period on record. A five-day cull started of the camels and horses started on Wednesday.

The Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook reported that “catastrophic fire danger ratings have been issued in NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria.”

Federal agriculture officials said that at least 100,000 livestock have been killed by the fires as authorities struggle to get animals into safer zones.

Among the many of those offering help to stricken horses from the wildfires is disqualified Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Darren Weir, who along with his daughters Taige (21) and Bonnie (16), have opened up their 160-hectare Baringhup property, to take in horses hit by the bushfires.

Fate of the brumbies

The wider environmental debate has also reignited an ongoing controversy of the growing number of feral horses, known as brumbies, in Australia’s Kosciuszko National Park. The brumbies are largely seen as a symbol of the settler culture at the essence of Australia’s national identity.

With numbers growing to an estimated 6,000 horses in the grasslands park, a war of words has been waged in recent years between the equine lovers and environmentalists, calling for a cull of the growing numbers to protect the plant species.

Environmentalists argue that the horse numbers have increased four-fold since 2005 and are continuing to campaign for a cull.