For generations, the wild steeds have roamed with impunity in Australia’s national parks.

But behind the romantic allusions lies a harsh reality.

The brumbies’ thundering hooves and ravenous appetites have cut a swathe through the environment in places like Kosciuszko National Park.

Their impact on vegetation and soil has been devastating.

They are causing erosion at river crossings, spreading weeds and competing with native animals and livestock.

The brumby may hold a special place in the national psyche but their place in fragile national parks has long been at the centre of a furious debate.

The state government dropped a grenade on the debate this week, announcing plans to effectively wipe out the Snowy Mountains brumby.

In a move described by critics as "horrific", the government revealed it would decimate the brumby population by 90 per cent.

Emotion and reason are hard to reconcile for many in this debate.

The Snowy Mountains brumby has attained near-mythical status ever since featuring in Banjo Patterson’s A Man from Snowy River.

It may be true they are an introduced species, but they are also intelligent and graceful.

To many, they are more akin to cats and dogs than cattle and sheep.

There is a powerful argument to say the brumby should remain in places like the Snowy Mountains purely for historical reasons.

But this debate cannot be guided by sentiment alone.

If the scientific consensus is that the brumby is doing irreparable damage to the environment, then the government’s cull should be supported.

Of course, all species – including humans – have an impact on their environment.

But their must be a tipping point where the cost outweighs the benefit, however intangible that “benefit” may be.

A similar move this week to launch “carpaggedon” against the rabbit of our rivers – the European carp – is much easier to swallow.

Few fishermen, or environmentalists, will shed a tear for the much-maligned species.