Copyright theage
The couples’ son, Robert Henggeler, manages the station and gave evidence to the tribunal about why the donkeys are an important part of their business. “[They] will go into areas in our control management zone where the cattle readily won’t go,” he said. “We’re in the rangelands. We’re not on great pastoral country. We’ve got hills. We’ve got gullies and we’ve got ranges. And whether we like it or not, on average we get about a metre of rainfall. And with that much rain, we will grow grass. “In that landscape, I have really only two broad options to manage vegetation, and my options are herbivores or fire. But the donkeys, in conjunction with the cattle, they’re different grazers. They impact on the environment differently. And if they’re managed, their numbers and their behaviours managed ... I believe we have proven ... there’s science out there, not just in Australia but all over, that is verifying that.”
