Is it time to consider shifting efforts away from saving some of the world's most famous species?

It is a controversial proposition and the implications of it are both moral and environmental, but in a recent survey of nearly 600 scientists involved in wildlife protection, around 60 per cent agreed with the idea of shifting efforts away from species that are too difficult or too costly to preserve in the wild. 

Many experts have rejected that, saying we have no business making judgements over one species at the expense of another. 

So where should funds be invested when there is not enough money to save all species?

Inside Story discusses with guests: Paul Goldenstein, a professional wildlife guide and conservationist; Murray Rudd, an environmental economist and senior lecturer at the Environmental Department of the University of York; and Jean-Christophe Vie, the deputy head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.