Protests against horses on local beaches have turned nasty with “vigilantes” putting nails and a buried star picket in areas used by horses, a local recreational horse rider says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Australian Trail Horse Riding Association Warrnambool branch spokesman and former Warrnambool academic Gordon Forth said he had been told a board studded with nails had been placed on a horse trail in the dunes in the Belfast Coastal Reserve.
Dr Forth said he had also been told a star picket had been buried in an area at Levy Beach where riders allowed their horses to roll on the sand.
He believed the star picket had been placed in the area to harm horses.
Dr Forth also said recreational horse riders in the reserve were being verbally abused by people opposed to horses using the reserve.
He condemned the vigilante action, saying it had descended beyond verbal abuse of horse riders to “criminal behaviour.”
It showed the depth of feeling about horses on beaches that had become a very divisive issue in the community, he said.
Dr Forth said those wanting to continue to ride horses recreationally in the conservation zone proposed for the coastal reserve also had strong feelings on the issue.
He said some people had told him they would defy any ban on the recreational riding of horses in the conservation zone and were willing to be arrested.
Dr Forth made the comments at the first of the latest round of Parks Victoria community consultations on the draft management plan for the Belfast Coastal Reserve where the horses on beaches issue dominated.
He said claims that horses were reducing the survival rate of the endangered hooded plover birds in the reserve were baseless.
Dr Forth said a Parks Victoria survey estimated that horses were responsible for less than one per cent of the losses of hooded plovers in the area.
Hooded plover nesting sites in the area were roped off and riders did not ride through those areas, he said.
Recreational horse riding had occurred in the reserve for 30 years without causing any problems, Dr Forth said.
He said recreational horse riders were being punished for the actions of a few commercial horse trainers whose large scale training operations on the beaches had raised concerns for the environment.
Dr Forth said the proposal to ban recreational horse riding and dog walking from the conservation zone would destroy “a lot of community good will.”
Saturday’s consultation session at the Pavilion attracted a good turnout of people with those attending divided into discussion groups of their choice to provide feedback on specific issues such as horses on the reserve’s beaches or dogs on the reserve’s beaches.
The discussion group about horses on beach drew the largest number of people wanting to express their views.
Further community consultations will be held by Parks Victoria on the draft management plan at the Port Fairy Community Services Centre this Thursday from 4.30pm-7.30pm and on Saturday at the Koroit Theatre from 10am-1pm.
