When you think of camels, what do you see? The Egyptian Plains perhaps or the deserts of Saudi Arabia àla ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. What you wouldn’t associate camels with is the Australian outback.
Two unsuspecting camels edge closer towards the barbecue
Well surprising as it may seem, there are currently over one million camels roaming wild over the plains of Australia, and that number is set to double over the next 10 years.
So how did the camel get to Australia in the first place? Well they were introduced in 1840 to help with the transport of goods to remote regions. However with the advent of the railways, the camels were turned loose and their numbers have since swelled dramatically.
Such a huge part they’ve become of Australian culture, that the Aussies now hold national Camel Race Championships.
Yet the Aussie government is so alarmed at the huge increase in numbers of wild camels that they are considering a cull to reduce numbers.
Unfortunately our one-humped friends are currently munching their way through parts of Australia’s fragile eco-system.
So exactly how do you cull thousands of camels? Do you bring in expert trackers to round them up so they can be humanely put down? Of course not! You bring in tourists to book ‘camel shooting safaris’! That’s just one idea put forward by The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, which is masterminding the huge operation.
Other inventive ideas include mobile abattoirs to turn the unfortunate camels into pet food. Or how about a nice camel steak on the barbie?
Whatever the research centre decides, the problem does call for drastic action. So if you want to see wild camels in Australia, you’d better get your skates on!
So what do you think about the camel situation in Australia? Let us know your views.
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12 Responses to “Australian Camels run wild!”
Comment by lisa boydell — July 28, 2009 @ 10:57 pm
i think it’s disgusting
Comment by custardo — July 28, 2009 @ 11:06 pm
who knew that this even existed? what a tourist attraction it could be if marketed properly. Proper investment is needed to look into a viable sustainability model for both animals and their environment.
Culling is a short term, short sighted approach.
Comment by sunny — July 28, 2009 @ 11:31 pm
mmmmm camel burgers
Comment by custardo — July 28, 2009 @ 11:32 pm
sustainable solutions man, not camel burgers
Comment by emma — July 29, 2009 @ 9:41 am
i think it is very wrong
no one has a right to kill this camels they are still life.
they could contain them in a large area but killing them is wrong
Comment by steven — July 29, 2009 @ 9:47 am
no one had the right to kill and think living on this earth
you say there are to many camels in this world so lets kill them well there are all so to many ppl to so what are you saying lets kill it makes me so angry when one hears somethink like this
Comment by Anna Scrivenger — July 29, 2009 @ 9:50 am
Live camels are worth quite a bit to the Arab nations, who have no wild camels left at all, so there’s a valuable export market for them from Australia to the Middle East. If it pays its own way, surely it’s a (marginally) better solution for the camels, and certainly more lucrative for Australia.
In any case, camels have soft feet and do MUCH less damage to the Outback than hoofed animals like the cattle and sheep that ranchers let loose all over the place. Nobody’s going on sheep-shooting safaris.
I think this is an ill-advised and flippant story and doesn’t offer any balance concerning the alternatives, or insight about the comparative impact of camels on the ‘fragile eco-system’.
I certainly hope the policy does not go ahead. I am sure there’d be widespread opposition from Australia and the rest of the world. And what sort of vile sicko wants to slowly torture and kill families of camels for fun?
Comment by Elizabeth Addison — July 29, 2009 @ 10:15 am
Interesting article. More from this writer please.
I think camel burgers and steaks could a great idea- ozzies have always led the way on eating interesting things like ostrich, haven’t they? Camel meat would be a good addition to the range and they are not super-cute like koala bears so it could just work!
Comment by Anna Scrivenger — July 29, 2009 @ 11:40 am
Koalas are not bears, and you won’t see ostrich on many Aussie menus. That’s a South African thing.
And cuteness is in the eye of the beholder!
Comment by Jack P — July 29, 2009 @ 3:07 pm
I’m sure camels, like roos produce less methane so wouldn’t their farming for meat make sence instead of cattle and sheep.
I understand the sensitivities of everyone in terms of eating animals, however as was reported in media earlier this year Australian traditional livestock output a massive quantity of methane.
Comment by Jan Viljoen — August 6, 2009 @ 7:20 am
Overbreeding needs culling, The same problem exists in the Kruger National Park, Sout Africa, amongst elefants.
All these animals need to be managed and some sort of culling is absolutely necessary.
Any farmer sells off his surplus stock, its part of life.
Comment by Emma Newell — August 7, 2009 @ 6:40 am
While there is certainly an argument for a sustainable farming industry centered on camels in Australia, the PRESENT problem is in regards to the vast number of wild camels who roam unchecked throughout some of the most fragile parts of the Australian ecosystem. They have no real predators apart from man, and unlike some of the other feral species are uniquely suited to prospering in our harsh environment. As such they are becoming a real threat to several endangered species of both plant and animal, and while a long term sustainable solution should be explored, immediate action must be taken to at the very least reduce camel numbers to levels where they are no longer a threat to our very vulnerable native species.
Camels are NOT a native species, and while they are present in Australia, they are like rabbits, cats ad dogs who have gone feral a clear and present danger to the preservation of our Australian eco system. Therefore while I do abhor the potential waste of killing so many animals without collecting the meat, hide and bones, I cannot disagree with the necessity of culling. It is harsh reality. We must become the peak predator in a land where there is none to keep in check those introduced species which require one.