From poems to films and books of history, horses feature widely in Australian popular culture.

Feral horses, also known as brumbies, are descendants of domesticated horses that now live and breed independently in the wild. For some people, these horses are a cherished part of Australia’s cultural heritage. For others, they represent a major threat to the environments they inhabit.

Yuraygir National Park, on the coast of northern New South Wales on Yaegl and Gumbaynggirr Country, is a stunning landscape where you can see coastal emus and spot migrating whales from the shore.

It is also home to a small feral horse population that is now at the centre of a legal dispute. The final hearing, taking place on Wednesday, could have repercussions far beyond feral horses.

What is this dispute about?

In late August, feral horse advocates began urgent proceedings in the NSW Land and Environment Court. They argued the National Parks and Wildlife Service does not have the legal authority to kill feral horses in Yuraygir.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service had been using aerial shooting, ground shooting and trapping to manage feral horses, as well as feral pigs, deer and foxes. It has now agreed to suspend activities until the final hearing on September 9.

To date, the court has not ruled the proposed operations are unlawful. Rather, the current........

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