Australia Plans to Kill 6000 Thirsty Camels Invading Town

[Elmore Furth]

A continuing drought much of Australia and an early heat wave have dried up other water sources and forced large numbers of Camels into town of Docker River. The camels, which are not native to Australia but were introduced in the 1840s when then helped the initial colonizers settle but now they compete with sheep and cattle for food, trample vegetation and invade remote settlements in search of water, tearing apart bathrooms and ripping up water pipes.

Australian authorities plan to corral about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and gun them down after they overran a small Outback town in search of water, trampling fences, smashing tanks and contaminating supplies.

The Northern Territory government announced its plan Wednesday for Docker River, a town of 350 residents where thirsty camels have been arriving daily for weeks because of drought conditions in the region.

"The community of Docker River is under siege by 6,000 marauding, wild camels," local government minister Rob Knight said in Alice Springs, 310 miles northeast of Docker. "This is a very critical situation out there, it's very unusual and it needs urgent action."

The government plans to use helicopters to herd the camels about nine miles outside of town next week, where they will be shot and their carcasses left to decay in the desert. The state government will give a 49,000 Australian dollar ($45,000) grant for the cull and to repair damaged infrastructure in the town.

Australia Plans to Kill Thirsty Camels

[AllentownJake]

1. Who would think that if you introduce a species with no naturual predator

to an environment that it would cause problems.

[SoCalNative]

2. I doubt they gave that much consideration

in 1840

[msongs]

3. wikipedia - 1 MILLION wild camels in Australia doing huge damage to the

environment and infrastucture.

Msongs

[obliviously]

4. How about camel jerky

and camel chili?

[Kali]

5. I wonder do they have the equivalent of our wild horse nuts?

Save the romantic introduced large herbivore!

[Bobbieo]

6. It would be nice if they could haul the camel carcases to the Arctic to feed

the starving polar bears.

[scarletwoman]

7. "...their carcasses left to decay in the desert." Next up, a plague of flies?

I don't know anything about the ecology of the Australian desert, but I can't help but think that leaving 6,000 rotting carcasses lying around might lead to some unpleasant unforseen consequences.

:shrug:
sw

[unkachuck]

8. Attack of the Killer Camels!....film at ten....

"The state government will give a 49,000 Australian dollar ($45,000) grant for the cull..."

....wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to get them some water?

[Yupster]

9. I like the line where it says

the introduced camel is taking the food and water of the cows and sheep.

Those must be the little seen marsupial cows and sheep native to the Outback.

PS -- horses are kind of native to the Americas as they were here until a fairly recent extinction around 10-15,000 years ago I think.

[Kali]

11. the camelids originated here too

along with other now extinct-megafauna, but nobody really advocates for their reintroduction

there were some pretty large marsupials running around down under at one time (and the larger Kangaroos are not something to sneeze at)

[timeforpeace]

10. There's some good eatin on one a them.