Skip to content
Animal Animal WelfareRights, National News Current Affairs

THE FACES OF THE HIGH COUNTRY: STUNNING IMAGES PUT A FACE TO AUSTRALIA’S BRUMBY DEBATE

IDENTITY PR 2 mins read
Key Facts:
  • Photographer Kiki Sjoberg has released a striking collection of images documenting wild brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park, shared through her Instagram page Brumby Strong.
  • The photographs aim to humanise the horses at the centre of Australia's ongoing debate over wild brumby management, showing individual animals with distinct personalities and family bonds.
  • Sjoberg hopes her work encourages a more compassionate and informed conversation, regardless of where people stand on current management plans.
  • The collection features intimate portraits of stallions, mares and foals, capturing moments of curiosity, resilience and companionship in the Australian high country.
  • Brumbies remain a divisive subject in Australia, representing pioneering heritage for some and a complex environmental challenge for others.

As renewed calls for culling continue, acclaimed photographer Kiki Sjoberg captures the individual horses behind one of Australia's most divisive wildlife conversations.

As debate intensifies over the future of wild brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park, a powerful new collection of photographs is reminding Australians that behind the statistics are living, breathing animals with distinct personalities, family bonds and stories of their own.

Captured by renowned brumby photographer Kiki Sjoberg who releases her work through her Instagram page Brumby Strong, the striking images showcase the horses that roam Australia's high country, many of whom she has followed and documented over years. Through her lens, viewers are invited to see beyond the headlines and connect with the individual faces that have become symbols of one of the nation's most contentious environmental and animal welfare issues.

"People often talk about brumbies as numbers, populations or management targets," says Kiki Sjoberg

"But when you spend time observing them, you realise each horse is an individual. They have family groups, social structures and unique personalities. My hope is that these images encourage people to see them not just as part of a debate, but as part of Australia's living story."

The release of the images comes as discussions surrounding wild horse management continue to generate strong opinions across the country. While perspectives differ on the future of brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park, the photographs offer a rare opportunity to pause and reflect on the animals at the centre of the conversation.

For many Australians, brumbies represent a connection to the nation's pioneering history and high-country heritage. For others, they remain part of an ongoing environmental challenge requiring complex management solutions.

Rather than entering the political debate, Kiki hopes her work encourages a more informed and compassionate discussion.

"Whether people support the current management plans or oppose them, I think we can all agree that understanding what is at stake begins with seeing these horses for what they are," she says. "These images are about creating that connection."

The collection includes intimate portraits of stallions, mares and foals living within Kosciuszko National Park, capturing moments of curiosity, resilience, companionship and survival in one of Australia's most iconic landscapes.


Contact details:

Karen Griffin

[email protected] / 0412 855 923

Media

More from this category

  • National News Current Affairs, Political
  • 02/06/2026
  • 11:00
AUKUS Public Inquiry

Will AUKUS keep us safe – at what cost?

Media Release 2 June 2026 Canberra Will AUKUS keep us safe – at what cost? For the first time, the Australian community will have the opportunity to investigate the controversial and secretive AUKUS defence pact. Today, five esteemed Australians will launch a nationwide Public Inquiry into AUKUS at Parliament House, Canberra. From diverse backgrounds and disciplines, but united in their commitment to transparency, democracy and the defence of Australia, Peter Garrett, Carmen Lawrence, Chris Barrie, Leanne Minshull and Karina Lester will head the public inquiry into AUKUS beginning today. Full Commissioner profiles can be viewed here. There has never been…

  • Contains:
  • National News Current Affairs
  • 01/06/2026
  • 08:58
Drug Free Australia

New study – Cannabis causes exponential rise in ‘hole in the heart’

A landmark new study published by one of world’s most elite scientific journals, Nature - Journal of Perinatology, has demonstrated that rising US cannabis use is causally responsible for exponential increases in a birth defect commonly called ‘hole in the heart’ or Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), where US rates that measured 10.3 cases for every 10,000 births in 2005 have moved amongst certain ethnicities to as high as 884/10,000 in Nevada and Mississippi in 2020, or about 1 in 11 babies affected. The study used careful statistical adjustments to show that the effect was truly causal. The findings are even…

  • Education Training, National News Current Affairs
  • 01/06/2026
  • 06:00
Dr Monique Ryan, Independent Federal Member for Kooyong

Simple HECS fix would save students billions, new analysis shows

Today, students across Australia will see their HECS debts rise again,bya total ofover $1 billion,inanother clear sign that Australia’s student debt repayment system is fundamentally broken. Dr Monique Ryan MP, Independent Member for Kooyong, said the annual increase highlights the urgent need for structural reform. “Young Australians are already under immensefinancialpressure. Today they'rewakingup to find their student debt has grown again. We need to fix this broken system,” Dr Ryan said.“When you make a payment on your home loan, its balance goes down. Graduates’ HECSpayments aren’t being accredited to their accounts in real time, andthat’scosting them dearly, as indexation is…

Media Outreach made fast, easy, simple.

Feature your press release on Medianet's News Hub every time you distribute with Medianet. Pay per release or save with a subscription.