How wild horses sparked a culture war in Australia
A long-delayed brumby cull is proving controversial
![Wild brumbies running through the high country of the Snowy Mountains, Australia](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240224_ASP001.jpg)
Brumbies are romantic creatures. Australia’s wild horses, descended from the steeds of early settlers, roam the continent’s highest ranges, the Australian Alps. Synonymous with whip-cracking stockmen of yesteryear, they are celebrated in poetry and on a banknote. So when the state of New South Wales culled some brumbies in 2022, it provoked such outrage that park rangers were threatened with firebombing.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “They shoot horses”
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