International Gathering Appalled at Australian Government Treatment Of The Iconic Heritage Brumbies

Government and NGO conflict of interest, false count reports, bogus reproductive rate reports, etc. add up to false narratives that generate worldwide disgust

COLDEN, NY, UNITED STATES, July 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Equine Collaborative International (ECI) hosted an International Roundtable gathering of people with diverse backgrounds, educations and equine experiences on June 24, 2026. The discussion began with why it appears, universally, that cruelty laws are lacking in strength and difficult to enforce. The middle ground of discussion covered the need for advocates and advocacy groups to unify and support causes in order to become a more effective voice for the voiceless.
The final topic for the meeting was the current ‘cull’ being perpetrated upon the Brumby population in Kosciuszko National Park (KNP) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. All three parts of the discussion have bearing on the current proceedings in Australia.
The Minister for The Environment of NSW, Penny Sharpe, is, by all accounts, not engaging with constituents on the matter of the Brumby shooting. She is not responding to phone calls or e-mails. Aerial shooting had been outlawed following the disastrous Guy Fawkes River National Park shooting in 2000. Sharpe ordered that shooting begin again in 2023, 2 years before the law was rescinded in 2025. Integrity, truth and transparency must all be questioned when a government cannot follow its own laws or conveniently changes a law to suit a created circumstance. Government and NGO veracity were doubted by all at the roundtable.
Sharpe’s Senior Policy Advisor, Emily Dyball, is married to Jack Gough. Gough is Chief Executive Officer of the Invasive Species Council (ISC) which is a non-government organization (NGO). The speakers at the roundtable agreed that this should be interpreted as a conflict of interest.
Mel Rowe contributed, “we have a very powerful NGO here that masquerades as a conservation group, and I will say ‘masquerades’ because they really are a political lobbyist group.”
The science employed by the government and the ISC is questioned by every knowledgeable person who hears or reads the government and NGO rhetoric. Accurate counts of Brumby population have not been done by an impartial third party. The numbers that are put forth are ludicrous. Reported population growth rates that defy biological possibilities. Sharpe estimated a population increase of 315% in a year. 11-month gestation and approximately 50% female population make this a laughable statement.
“The integrity of the government at the moment, is rated so poorly because they are not transparent and they are not allowing any external investigation of their activities.”, said Mel Rowe, who spends a great deal of time in KNP and had a seat at the International Roundtable. She added, “Australians deserve honesty — and so do our Brumbies. This isn’t just about numbers. It’s about trust, integrity, and the treatment of an iconic Australian animal.”
When data is inconsistent, when oversight is avoided, and when population figures defy biological reality, the public has every right to question what is really happening in Kosciuszko National Park.”
“This is a classic example of knowledge being shaped to serve power. Data and population numbers were allegedly manipulated—what’s known as “tactical productivity”—to create a constructed truth that supports those in charge.
What’s most concerning is the authority wielded by government agencies, speaking with both scientific and governmental power. Making it appear ‘reasonable’ to the public that killing Brumbies is a responsible act of conservation. By framing the cull as a necessary response to a “crisis”, they sever the link between wrongdoing and accountability, creating a moral environment where cruelty is excused or ignored.
Labelling a species as invasive designates them as “worthy of extermination,” making their destruction socially acceptable. This is not conservation; it is the weaponization of science and language to serve an agenda.
“The government maintains an "Eco vs Ego" hierarchy where humans act as masters of the landscape rather than its custodians. This mindset disregards holistic ecological principles. Ignoring of Indigenous Kinship and long-standing cultural and spiritual connection of the Ngarigo people to the Brumbies is often sidelined in favor of an eradication-focused narrative.
Dean Marsland has long experience in KNP, familiarity with the land, what damages or improves land health and extensive knowledge of ballistics. He has walked KNP and photographed its inhabitants for years. His familiarity has allowed him to provide photographic evidence of the effects of aerial shooting. Marsland contests Gough’s statement, saying, “Jack states, ‘a group of people using lies and manipulating information rather than backing in the science’, science that is in effect ‘cut and paste’ tidbits from selected studies to form ‘new peer reviewed papers’ and to the exclusion of all the research that doesn't support their claims. Jack then goes on to say we ‘should be backing in the Parks Staff, the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the independent veterinarians", let's unpack that!
Many Parks staff do not agree with what is going on, in fact a number of them are so distressed by it that they are either sent to work in other areas or told to ‘take Holidays’ whilst the culling occurs.
The RSPCA have been BACKING AWAY from the atrocity of aerial shooting, publicly stating that they did NOT sign off on it.
The ‘independent veterinarians’ that oversaw the trial shooting inspected roughly 40 of the 270 shot during the trial in the southern end of KNP. 230 horses shot in the steep, heavily timbered areas where visibility would have been heavily obscured were NOT inspected.”
Can a licensed veterinarian sign an assessment when the visual was from a flying helicopter?
“Jack speaks about "headwaters" that need protecting though every one of those headwaters is dammed and diverted by a human made hydro electric scheme.
I think we ALL know which group is ‘using lies and manipulating information rather than backing in the science’, and Jack is their CEO and lying mouthpiece.”
On behalf of the Brumby population, we encourage you to take a stand and be a voice for the voiceless. Call Australian Consulates and share your opinions on this cull. Find your consulate: https://share.google/LRRXO7FNrVCwXgRIF

Barbara Moore
Equine Collaborative International
411eci@gmail.com

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