Camels to be shot by helicopters in Australia

[Melinda]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wor...00908215357105

Thousands of camels will be shot from helicopters and turned into burgers in a bid to halt their trail of havoc across Australia.


Targets: Camels graze in the Australian outback unaware of threat above


Marksmen plan to gun the animals down amid concern the thirsty dromedaries are barging into people's homes and ripping up their bathrooms looking for water.

Government officials plan to wipe out 650,000 of the feral population in the remote Outback area of the country.

The creatures were first introduced to Australia in the 1840s to help explorers travel through the Australian desert.

There are now about one million camels roaming the country.

They compete with sheep and cattle for food, trample vegetation and invade remote settlements in search of water.




On a number of occasions they have scared residents - tearing apart bathrooms and ripping up water pipes.

Last month, the federal government set aside £9.5m for the cull.

Besides sending in sharpshooters in helicopters and on foot, officials are planning to turn many of the creatures into camel burgers and other treats.

Glenn Edwards, who is working on drafting the government's camel reduction program, said the camel population needs to be slashed by two-thirds to reduce catastrophic damage.



But some remain opposed to a mass slaughter.

Camel exporter Paddy McHugh, who runs camel catching operations throughout Australia, said a cull would be ineffective.

"What happens in 15 years when the numbers come back again? Do we waste another £9.5m," McHugh said.

But Tony Peacock, CEO of the University of Canberra's Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Center, said: "To be shot from a helicopter is actually quite humane, even though that sounds brutal."

"If I was a camel, I'd prefer to just get it in the head."

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[marko]

These stories always bother me.
I never know what to do about them, or know how I'd feel if I was a farmer whose livelihood was threatened...but these stories bother me.

[Melinda]

they bother me also Marko, like the interviewed man says...what happens in 15 yrs when the population is back up? would it not be better to somehow castrate young ones? or would that be like trying to "fix" our deer?

[mikischo]

I have mixed feeling about this. Unfortunately, this situation was created by man in the first place. Nature never intented for camels to live in Australia. As the story indicated, they were introduced there by man in the 1840's for people's convenience at the time. Not the camels' fault that they were introduced into a new land and have now become pests, but what can be done to correct man's mistake.

These types of problems are prevalent all over the world, because when people began settling in other countries they sometimes brought with them plants, animals, birds, etc. that were native to their countries. Once introduced into an environment they were not intended for, many have become invasive, sometimes threatening native wild life and flora. So many problems today are the result of man's interference with the natural order of things. Just my

So what do we do to correct the problems we have created?

[hazelrunpack]

One million camels....holy catz! At this stage, what can they do besides cull? Once the population is culled, maybe they can turn their next efforts to population control, if they even have birth control for camels that can be administered from the air... But there is no way they could dart a million camels with birth control meds. And how could you tell after the first dartings which camels were 'fixed' and which weren't? Even if they can get the population down to 250,000, birth control is still an insurmountable task and likely would cost more each year than culling would!

It's not just farmers' losses that need to be considered. It's native animals that suffer the most from invasive species. It's why hazel was in favor of killing the cowbird that we captured while banding--cowbirds are native to WI but human activity has increased the 'reach' of cowbirds, who happen to be nest parasites. Since human activity has changed the landscape, cowbirds can reach far into the forest and parasitize species that are totally unprepared to deal with them. As a result, populations of many small songbirds are declining while the cowbird populations soar since every road cut into the forest gives them access to new areas. One cowbird fem can parasitize up to 70 nests in her lifetime!!! That's a huge impact and it's recognized by the govt--cowbirds are the only native bird that you can legally kill any time you can safely do it in WI.

As heartless as it sounds, the camels don't belong in Australia. As I understand it they have a very detrimental impact on the ecosystem and put a great deal of pressure on native species. If the authorities can truly cull 650,000, IMO they should go the rest of the way and try to cull them all. It's bloody and brutal, but for an invasive species like camels, it would have the greatest long-term benefit for the ecosystem. And unlike introduced rats or snakes or invasive plants, camels are large enough to be fairly 'easily' eradicated.

Humans caused the problem. Camels are just being camels. It's sad, but if the ecosystem is to be restored, culling by humans may be the only way at this point.

[Goldfields]

And while they are at it, Hazel, they should be culling any wild goats, pigs, brumbies(horses), water buffalo, rabbits , wild dogs, and feral cats that they spot because they are all foreign to this country and all are doing untold damage. I'd hate to live out there, I know I wouldn't be tough enough, even while knowing such culls must be done.