Agronomist Joe Fitzpatrick snapped these brumbies at the Merivale Road and Stockyard Creek Road intersection on Thursday.
“There have been brumbies known through that Stockyard Creek kind of area for quite a while we have seen them on the beaches in Kelp Beds,” he said.
Mr Fitzpatrick said they had never had problems with the wild horses on his block.
We asked the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) whether feral horses were a significant agricultural pest in the south east cost, or Esperance and Ravensthorpe Shires.
“Small, isolated populations of feral horses are known to be on the south east coast,” a spokesperson replied.
“Under the Biosecurity and Agricultural Management Act, it is landholders’ responsibility to control this pest.”
Salmon Gums farmer Rory Graham said he had issues with emus, kangaroos “the odd dingo” plus an occasional camel but no horses.
“There is actually a fair bit of deer coming up from the coast,” he said.
“When we first came to WA back in the 60s there used to be herds of brumbies come to our farm down on the coast.
“They cleaned them up.”
Salmon Gums farmer Andy Nolan agreed.
“They were in this area after the depression when people walked off these farms, they just let their horses go and they bred up,” he said.
“They used to shoot them anyone who had pigs used to feed them to their pigs.
“That was way before my time — the nearest ones you hear of now are up near Norseman but they are non-existent down here now.”
