Snowy Mountains Brumby protections should be dropped, scientists say

It is the toughest kind of PR campaign to run: convincing Australians the wild horses of the Snowy Mountains, made famous by Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River, need to be urgently shot.

And some of Australia's leading ecologists accept the campaign is currently failing.

Dozens of scientists today signed a new accord, calling on the New South Wales Government to overturn the so-called Brumby Bill which handed new protections to the wild horses in the Kosciuszko National Park based on their cultural significance.

But with the push comes a need for the scientists to find a message that will bring the public on side with the cull.

Scientists acknowledge cutting through the jargon to appeal to the public is not always their greatest strength, and evocative images of men shooting horses out of helicopters can be far more potent than calls to save the corroboree frog or broad-toothed rat.

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Article written by: Tom Lowrey