# 32 summer-autumn 2006 news from the Colleen Nagle describes the relationship many people have with the brumby. “My mother lives in the west of New South Wales, a long way from the Victorian Alps. And when I say we’re working to control feral horses, straight away she says, “You’re not going to hurt them are you?” People who have never seen a brumby in their lives don’t want you to interfere with them.”
wild Colleen, a ranger in the Alpine Nationalhorses Park, East Alps Unit at Omeo sums up the cultural connection some people have with an introduced species – one that is putting incredible pressure on a range of fragile alpine ecosystems, from bogs through to the treeless alpine zones. These horses are like any of the other feral species, all of which must be managed as part of our stewardship of the alps. The fact that they come with a culturally-linked mythology, á la The Man from Snowy River, only makes the job more complex.