SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Thousands of wild camels in Australia's Outback will be shot and killed from helicopters as part of an attempt to control the animals' burgeoning numbers, a state official and local media said Tuesday.

Camels were first introduced into Australia in the mid-1880s to transport supplies across the desert, but were released into the wild after trains and trucks replaced them. With no natural predators and ample grazing land, Australia's wild camel population has exploded in parts of central, northern and western Australia. Some scientists have estimated there are as many as 500,000 camels roaming the country's vast deserts.

Authorities in South Australia state have announced plans to cull the animals, which have begun to encroach on rural properties.

Rural lands inspector Chris Turner said camel numbers near ranching lands have reached about 60,000, straining the limited water supplies for sheep and cattle.

Turner said some ranchers have reported seeing as many as 200 camels drinking from a single watering hole.

"It's estimated that the camel population increases by about 11 per cent per year," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio, adding that it was necessary to cap the animals' population.

"The simplest, quickest and most cost effective way of doing that is an aerial cull," he said.

Marksmen would be employed to shoot the animals from helicopters, the ABC reported on Tuesday.

The report said thousands of animals would be culled, but did not specify exactly how many.

Turner also declined to comment on the exact number.

The national president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Hugh Wirth, said his organization was "totally opposed" to the practice of aerial culling.

"You've got a moving platform from which the animal is shot, such as a helicopter, and you've got a moving animal. You cannot cleanly kill, instantly kill, humanely kill a moving animal from a moving platform," Wirth said.

He said aerial culling of camels and other introduced species had been carried out by the government in the past, despite opposition from animal welfare groups.

Animal welfare group Animals Australia's executive director Glenys Oogjes described the planned cull as a "blood bath." Aerial shooting had been used against wild horses and goats, stressing the animals and causing extensive injuries, she said.

"We've seen terrible cruelty involved in that sort of killing spree and it's virtually impossible operating from the air to check that every animal is killed outright," Oogjes said.

Australia has a history of infestations by animals from overseas.

Rabbits brought from Europe swarmed across parts of the Outback and noxious cane toads brought from South America to control bugs in sugar cane fields are now spreading across the north, killing native wildlife from snakes to small crocodiles that eat them.

What Others are Saying

9 Comments Post Comment

1. Re: Australia announces wild camel cull
21-06-2005 by visitor

When will the first Camel air shoot game be released ?

2. Re: Australia announces wild camel cull
02-11-2005 by visitor

This is ridiculous. I have ridden camels in Australia. They are not a dangerous animal. I feel like crying..how dare they be such bastards!

3. Re: Australia announces wild camel cull
09-11-2005 by visitor

How sad it is- the suffering that occurs during these aerial slaughters must be immense. Huge scale camel culls (I mean millions of camels) have occured in the NT a number of times. Again these so-called 'pest' animals suffer as a result of human introduction. And because they are a pest, it doesn't matter how they are disposed of.

4. Re: Australia announces wild camel cull
11-05-2006 by visitor

These animals need to be kept in check you ignorant fools. They are destroying our NATIVE wildlife. Without doing something many native animals will die. Camels destroy natural watering holes and because of their ability to survive long periods without water it doesnt affect them. However our native animals cannot. Dont be so blind to what is really needed.

5. Re: Australia announces wild camel cull
29-01-2008 by visitor

There not native and there encroaching on the territories of men and animals. Shouldn't have been there in the first place. They eat food that native wildlife need. They need to be removed, but they should get people to do it on the ground. Not from the sky.

6. Re: Australia announces wild camel cull
21-02-2008 by Carl
wow_dousy(AT)excite.com

It's very easy to see that visitors 1 2 and 3 are "hippy city slickers". Perhaps we shouldn't be killing any of the feral animals in this land of ours! Lets's let nature take it's own course and have the only animals in Autralia be the feral animals like the cat, fox, pig, mouse, rabbit, horse, trout, gamboosia, uneducatedcity dwelling hippies etc etc! Wake up and smell the Banksias hippies! Camels as well as most to all the other non indeginous animals need to be kept in check!

7. Re: Australia announces wild camel cull
06-08-2009 by visitor

May I suggest that those opposed to this solution adopt a camel or six and keep it in their back yards until they come up with a more practical solution.

8. Re: Australia announces wild camel cull
02-09-2009 by mansoor
man2002soor(AT)hotmail.com

why they shot ? they can export them. i wante camles in uae

9. Re: Australia announces wild camel cull
09-12-2009 by Dr Pat.

The camals are a major problem and winging about their rights to die quickly wont get the job done. Aeril culling is carried out by experts and more often then not, the animal is fell within 2 shoots. I have seen for myself worse ways for an animal to die than being shot.

The views expressed in the comments above are that of the internet public and are not neccessarily reflected by the philosophy of AAQ. Please report any abusive activity to webmistress(AT)animalactivism.org

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