Appeal bid to stop Victorian brumby cull

A Victorian cattleman has launched an appeal bid to stop brumbies being killed in the state's high country.

Omeo man Philip Maguire lodged his bid to stop the animals from being shot in the Court of Appeal this month.

The move was foreshadowed after Supreme Court Justice Steven Moore green lit the cull in the Alpine National Park in May.

In the application Mr Maguire argued the judge should have found Park Victoria's failure to engage with the community meant the decision was unlawful.

"Simply announcing its intention to kill the brumbies did not, in the circumstances, constitute 'engagement' that supported the decision," court documents show.

Justice Moore was "distracted" by the question whether engagement meant "consultation" which was an error, according to the documents.

The Parks Victoria "kill policy" for the brumbies was a change in position and significantly controversial, it said.

Mr Maguire argued he had a "special interest" in preventing the cull because the brumbies grazed on his land, which abutted the Alpine National Park.

He also had a right to participate and would in Park's Victoria engagement in connection with the "kill policy".

Mr Maguire also applied for an injunction to stop the proposed shoot from going ahead while the appeal process was underway.

The hearing is due to start later this week.