Kaimanawa horse charities raising funds to stop cull

Kaimanawa wild horse charities are fundraising for a fourth muster this year.

The charities say it would avert the need for a cull of a small group of horses.

The 15 horses are currently living on ecologically sensitive Defence Force land

Kaimanawa wild horse charities are raising money for an unprecedented fourth muster of the year to avert the need to cull a small group of the animals.

The group of 15 horses is in an ecologically sensitive area of Defence Force land near Waiouru, on the North Island's central plateau, away from the main herd of around 500.

The Kaimanawa Wild Horse Advisory Group - which includes the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the charities, Kaimanawa Heritage Horses and the Kaimanawa Legacy Foundation - recently decided that a muster of those horses could take place if the charities raised the money for it.

Kaimanawa Legacy Foundation founder Kelly Wilson said the cost of the muster was $50,000, and by the afternoon of Friday, 10 July, fundraising efforts had already brought in around $33,000.

The muster would likely take place in August, and be this year's fourth - something that has never happened before - after two were held in April and one in June.

Such musters see wild horses rounded up from Defence Force land and rehomed to properties around New Zealand.

However, Wilson said it would be hard to find homes for the 15 currently in the ecologically sensitive area, as after the last musters, fewer horses were rehomed than planned.

"Every single horse saved and every dollar raised is potentially going to sabotage our chances of finding homes in 2027," Wilson said.

She said it was important to rehome the animals to avoid the precedent of using aerial culling for herd management. No Kaimanawa wild horses had been slaughtered since 2014.

"These are horses that fall outside of the management area, so they're not horses that have the same considerations as the rest of the Kaimanawa herd.

"They've been largely left alone if they stay where they are supposed to."

Wilson said the time of year would also make it harder for trainers to be available for the 15 horses when they were rounded up.

In the past, culling horses in the ecologically sensitive area had happened regularly, but Wilson said it had been a while since they had migrated there.

Horses in area with high concentration of threatened species

DOC ranger and project lead Sarah Tunnicliffe said wild horses are allowed to live in designated areas of the military training zone - but not where the 15 are now.

"The northern area of the Waiouru Military Training Area is ecologically significant, with unusually high concentrations of threatened and notable species.

"Even a few horses can cause significant and potentially irreversible damage," Tunnicliffe said.

The management plan agreed by the advisory group directed the removal of all horses from the most ecologically significant areas.

"There are currently 15 horses in these vulnerable areas," she said.

"We've tried to muster or relocate these horses twice over the last 12 months, without success.

"The remote location means mustering requires high operational costs, and significant investment for few horses."

Tunnicliffe said euthanasia was usually the most feasible option for that part of the Defence Force area, but now the charities are raising money for a muster.

If the muster does go ahead, DOC will run it through temporary yards within the next few weeks.