Australia to kill more than 10,000 feral camels to prevent them from further 'contaminating important water sources'
Thousands of feral camels in South Australia will be killed in a bid to stop the animals from consuming more resources, especially water, in the drought-ravaged state. The operation to cull the camels will begin on Wednesday, January 8, after managers of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands gave their approval and said the animals had been a nuisance to their community, according to news.com.au.
"We have been stuck in stinking hot and uncomfortable conditions, feeling unwell, because the camels are coming in and knocking down fences, getting in around the houses and trying to get to water through air conditioners," said Marita Baker, a board member of the APY Executive.
Her community of Kanaypi is one of many that have been invaded by the feral camels in recent times as they continue migrating away from their traditional hotspots to search for food and water.
The operation to cut down on their population will see shooters in helicopters target herds of camels, and are expected to kill 10,000 of them by the time they're done in five days.
For the longest time, traditional owners in the west of the APY Lands have managed to live with the camels by capturing them and selling up but have found it difficult to manage the scale and number of the animals in the prevalent arid conditions, resulting in havoc.
"This has resulted in significant damage to infrastructure, danger to families and communities, increased grazing pressure across the APY Lands and critical animal welfare issues as some camels die of thirst or trample each other to access water," a spokesperson said.
"In some cases, dead animals have contaminated important water sources and cultural sites," they added.
Camels were first imported into the country from British India and Afghanistan during the 19th century for transport and construction, but many were released into the wild after motor vehicles became the norm in the 20th century.
Their population exploded in the following decades, and by 2008, it was estimated that there were 1 million of them in the country. With fears that their population would double every 8-10 years, a $19 million management program funded in 2009 saw their numbers cut down to 300,000.
However, their population swelled again to 1.2 million and they are now moving from Australia's center to farmland in the southeast coastal district of Western Australia to find food and water, prompting this most recent culling operation.