SYDNEY: Thousands of wild horses were shot dead in the mountains of eastern Australia as part of a controversial plan to cull them to protect the environment, according to German news agency dpa, citing a report by news agency AAP on Monday.

The wild horses, known as brumbies, have lived in the rugged Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales (NSW) for 200 years and have become part of Australian folklore featured in poems, songs, novels, and movies.

The NSW government is attempting to reduce their population from an estimated 14,380 to 3,000 by 2027 by trapping and rehoming as well as, when not possible, by ground and aerial shooting "as a way of protecting the natural environment" of Kosciuszko National Park.

NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe announced on Monday that the practice of shooting animals from helicopters is no longer necessary, as it was previously used to reduce population numbers to around 3,000, reported AAP.

Sharpe told a budget estimates hearing that trapping and rehoming programmes would remain active while officials investigate reproductive controls to stop a "boom and bust" cycle in populations.

Conservationists have been arguing that the feral horses, not a native species, damage the fragile mountain environment, destroying wetlands and endangering native species.

-- BERNAMA