Phone 5862 1034 – Fax 5862 2668 – Email - Editorial: [email protected] - Advertising: [email protected] – Registered by Australia Post – Publication No. VA 1548 established 1895 LEADER NumurkahWEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021 $1.30 INSIDE Top of her gameNews See story page X3 FIGHTING ... Julie Pridmore is at her wits end after the A cuppa long-standing fi ght with Parks Victoria. See story below. withNews Lou See story pagepages X 7 & 8 ‘Secret and deceitful’ brumby shootings outrage sanctuary builders THE Barmah Brumby Preservation Group animal grazing is having an ongoing impact on the “To ensure the safety of sta and contractors and (BBPG) is claiming that Parks Victoria (PV) has park .” the welfare of horses, operational details of feral been shooting brumbies in the Barmah National e BBPG has accepted that PV will rid the forest horse management operations are not made public- Park, despite agreeing not to shoot any this year. of brumbies, and that some will be shot in order to ly available,” the spokesperson said. With donations coming from right across Victoria, do so. e frustrations of the members of the BBPG Julie explained the BBPG’s side of the story to the Australia, and indeed the world, the BBPG raised lie with PV allegedly going behind their backs and Leader about $90,000 to build a purpose-built ‘sanctuary’, shooting brumbies in recent weeks, despite agreeing “Parks Vic has a strategic plan, that it removes up to on the doorstep of the Barmah National Park, in not to shoot any this year. Julie Pridmore, an active member of the preserva- 100 brumbies by the end of June,” Julie said. which to trap a herd of brumbies, so that they didn’t tion group, says it was part of PV’s “strategic plan” “We agreed to take those horses so that there was need to be shot. to eradicate 100 horses this year. Julie says they had no shooting done this year – that was the whole deal e sanctuary is now operational and is currently agreed with PV that 90 of those horses would be we’ve been trying to cut with them all along. housing 12 brumbies, which were trapped by the trapped in the sanctuary, and 10 others would be re- “ at we built this sanctuary and it got completed BBPG itself. homed. absolutely gob-smacked Parks Vic, and they were e BBPG knows that its ght to keep brumbies But that’s not what has transpired, she wrote in a in the Barmah National Park is over. PV has decided not ready for it. ey didn’t have trappers organised, that it must eradicate the horses from the forest be- post in the Barmah Brumby Preservation Group on and weather beat them, because they didn’t plan for Share the cause of the damage they are doing to the land. Facebook, which has over 13,000 members. us having the sanctuary done. “Barmah National Park supports nearly 300 na- “It is with disgust and sadness that I inform you “Because they weren’t ready, Daniel McLaughlin warmthNews tive species of birds, shes, reptiles, frogs and oth- that PV have been in the Barmah National Park (Regional Director at PV) has now given us a two- er animals and more than 500 native plant species, SHOOTING brumbies secretly and deceitfully at stage plan. He’s agreed to give us 30 horses, which including endangered and vulnerable species,” a PV night,” she wrote. they’ll start trapping in November, and then ‘we’ll See story page 5X spokesperson said to the Leader. In a statement given to the Leader, a spokesperson proceed through there’, was his wording. “ e continued pressure of horse and other feral from PV did not deny the allegations. Continued page 3. www.numurkahleader.net.au 2 — NumurkahLEADER, Wednesday, June 16, 2021 PARKS Victoria has a strategic plan to eradicate all brumbies from the Barmah National Park by PETER COX & SONS 2023, so it has, and will continue to shoot brumb- FUNERALDIRECTORS Should the brumbies ies in order to rid the park of the “feral horses”. Professional service tailored to your needs e Barmah Brumby Preservation Group (BBPG) has fought to keep the brumbies’ free- Locally owned & operated 24 hours - 7 days a week be allowed to live in dom alive, but has lost the ght, as Parks Vic’s decision is nal. Funeral calls and information Parks Vic has, however, agreed to allow BBPG to house up to 90 horses in its purpose built ‘sanc- the Barmah National tuary’, just outside the forest. Cnr5862 Meiklejohn &3047 Quinn Streets e Leader asked Numurkah locals whether ACCREDITED MEMBER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION or not they thought the brumbies should be le Park? alone in the Barmah forest. Meals on Wheels Roster Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 M. Crowther- VOLUNTEER S. Green 21/6 Harris REQUIRED G. Varley E. Newby VOLUNTEER 22/6 V. Bunny G. Russell REQUIRED Num Sec C. North L. Trimby 23/6 College P. MacDonald M. Caccianiga Belmore St Joseph’s B. Palmer 24/6 Accountants School B. & J. L. Grant Lions Club of 25/6 Macdonald T. Newman Numurkah Coordinator – MHA Care Phone 5742 1111 TUTTLES Chris McNamara Sue Lucas Gary Pizzini — FUNERAL SERVICES — ey’ve been there for years, why are we ge ing ey’re not causing enough harm to get rid of ey’ve been there forever and a day, so leave rid of them now? If you need to control them, them completely. I just think they deserve to run them there. ere’s plenty of feral pigs out there, Phone 1300 858 333 maybe just get rid of a few of them, and manage free. A lot of them were let free there a er they and deer and everything else. ey’re causing Caring 24 hour service it that way, but don’t completely eradicate them. served in the war, so I just think they should stay. just as much damage, so why are we targeting the ey’re not disturbing much, and they were there I’m a part of the BBPG, so I think it’s disgusting, brumbies? Inc. Binger & Tuttle, Limbrick & Tuttle, before we got here anyway, so leave them. what Parks Victoria is doing. If they really want Numurkah Funeral Services to get rid of them, why can’t they let people buy them then? Instead of shooting them, why not let people own them? Sell them for a dollar, or what- ever, so they have homes and they’re safe. ey shouldn’t be hunted and shot. “I NEVER THOUGHT I’D BE HOMELESS.” Heidi Raschle Bradley Hall Tammi Heyen Just leave them be. I don’t see what the harm e brumbies have been there for how long? I think we should leave them alone because it’s More people are now is, them being there. I can’t see how they’re do- We should leave them alone. ey’re part of our their natural habitat, isn’t it? Why should they not facing homelessness ing any more damage than people in four-wheel heritage, mate. ey’ve been there for hundreds be allowed there? ey’re not harming anyone. I than ever before. drives. of years, so I think they should be le alone. think they hardly disrupt the land, we should let them live. Visit salvationarmy.org.au or scan the QR code Two structure fi res last week LOCAL re brigades have had a reasonably that the branches were lit by an unknown person lieved to have been started by an electrical fault. busy week, with structure res and burn-o piles or persons. e owner used a garden hose on the At 10.30am on Friday, Cobram and Yarroweyah keeping them on the go. re until the re brigade arrived. Cobram and Fire Brigades, along with police and ambulance, At 7.10pm, last Tuesday, June 8, Katunga, Numurkah were stopped. were called to a vehicle accident at the corner Strathmerton and Numurkah brigades were Kaarimba, Nathalia, Numurkah, Waaia and turned out to a burn-o threatening a structure Shepparton Fire Brigades responded to a struc- of Murray Valley Highway and Punt Road, Co- Numurkah Leader is at Katunga North Road, Strathmerton, between ture re at Kaarimba Road, Kaarimba, between bram. Cobram re brigade washed down the bound by the Standards Pinnucks Road and Woods Lane. e burn o Moss Road and the Barmah/Shepparton Road road; Yarroweyah was not required. of Practice of the was a heap branches being burnt and was not at 10.35am last ursday. On Saturday, at 10pm, Numurkah, Katunga Australian Press threatening the building; the re brigade was not e structure was a very old house, part of and Shepparton brigades, were turned out to Council. If you believe required and Numurkah was stopped enroute. which was a log cabin which had a weatherboard a shed re at the corner of Saxton and Nelson the Standards may have been breached, At 30 minutes a er midnight last Wednesday, section and a brick laundry and bathroom add- Streets, Numurkah. e re started from a pot you may approach the newspaper Strathmerton, Numurkah and Cobram brigades ed. e re started in the brick section, scorched belly heater; the owner was alerted when the re itself or contact the Council by email were called out to a reported house re, at the some of the log cabin and burnt into the ceil- ([email protected]) or by phone corner of Murray Valley Highway and Second ing of the weatherboard section, where it was burnt through electrical wiring, turning the pow- ([02] 9261 1930).