Environmental groups say a state government plan to allow commercial horse training along the Belfast Coastal Reserve in Victoria risks damaging Aboriginal heritage and harming wildlife in beach conservation areas.
The stretch of beach between Warrnambool and Port Fairy on Victoria’s south-west coast has long been used by horse trainers.
But the executive director of the Victorian National Parks Association, Matt Ruchel, said ever since jockey Michelle Payne and trainer Darren Weir attributed their 2015 Melbourne Cup win to training their horse, Prince of Penzance, with sand dune workouts, numbers had increased.
“After they said how great the sand there was for training there was a massive explosion in the number of horses being brought to train on the beaches,” Ruchel said.
“The locals are saying it went from the occasional horse to up to 60 in one morning, with the associated floats and cars. The area is home to nesting birds along with culturally important Indigenous sites.”
The association and environmental groups had asked the Victorian government to ban horse training in the area. Groups were particularly concerned about nests, eggs and habitat of the threatened hooded plover being destroyed.
Instead, the government said this week that it would introduce a licensing system to allow the training to continue. A licence would be issued to the Warrnambool Racing Club with the aim of restricting the number of horses allowed on the beaches, as well as training times and training areas.
The club would also receive $600,000 from the government’s racing industry fund towards a new $1.2m sand fibre training track.
The racing minister, Martin Pakula, said the government was committed to delivering plans that would “ensure racing remains a vital part of the south-west and supports thousands of local jobs”.
“I thank the local racing industry for the spirit in which they have worked towards this solution,” he said.
But the chief executive officer of BirdLife Australia, Paul Sullivan, said hooded plovers cannot co-exist with commercial horse training. The horseschurn disrupts sand, disturbs chicks and nesting birds, crushes eggs and damages protective nest fencing, he said.
“This is a half-baked plan that won’t protect hooded plovers and other coastal values,” he said. “The closure of some hooded plover sites to trainers will just push other issues onto these beaches, increasing the threat to our plovers. Without funding for the management and protection of shorebirds this is all smoke and mirrors. All the money is being given to the racing industry.”
Ruchel said he feared the decision would set a precedent for coastal management and wildlife protection in this state.
“The government is rewarding commercial horse trainers for invading the Belfast Coastal Reserve without authorisation, threatening the survival of threatened shorebirds and risking public safety,” Ruchel said.
“The government might be giving commercial horse trainers a licence to continue damaging the reserve but they will not get a social licence from the community.”
