Feral horses an ‘imminent threat’ that could cause extinction of several endangered Australian species, inquiry warned

Submission to a parliamentary inquiry shows feral horses pose a major threat to the Albanese government’s zero extinctions target. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Feral horses in the Australian alps pose an imminent threat to the Albanese government’s zero extinctions target, a scientific committee that advises the government on endangered species has told a parliamentary inquiry.

The threatened species scientific committee (TSSC) says feral horses “may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction” of six critically endangered animals and at least two critically endangered plants.