/copy/
The chief executive of the local shire, Graham Taylor, says the situation is dire because children in Docker River could be injured by the camels. [500 kilometers south-west of Alice Springs in Australia.]

"I think the words 'under siege' are good words because it talks about people being stuck in their homes and looking out and seeing just numbers of camels at your front door," he said.

"And if they get anxious and want more water and stick their head through the window, I suppose you've then got another problem, so they're still chasing the water."
/paste/


Full story at ABC News:-

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009 ... ion=justin


All the meat to go to waste.

Why would they be shot, and left to rot, cant you eat camel.? It seems like such a waste of time, effort and money, at the least strip the meat off of the bones and sell it so that the region does not have a net financial loss, and ideally make some money out of it. then proceed to eradicate the camels from Australia.


Andy

Another proof what happeneds when you introduce a animal that doesn't belong into that ecosphere... But I agree with andyb. You could strip camel's meat, dry them and heck ship 'em to africa to help fight against hunger and camel skin is excellent for making clothes. But on the otherhand I am barbarian in anglo-saxon point of view, I eat blood foods and horse meat too. But camel, sounds delicious.

I have heard that camel tastes somewhere between deer and horse, its a shame but I had the choice to eat horse before my balls dropped, and simply have not seen it on the menu since. If I see camel on the menu, that cleft foot bastard will be mine Not to mention the horse - of course


Andy

Yes, it is all a sad story that could have been precluded by shooting their ancestors (pre-1920s) instead of releasing into the wilderness.

Reference: http://www.camelsaust.com.au/history.htm

/copy/
The community of Docker River is continuing to be troubled by camels despite a massive cull, the deputy chief executive of the MacDonnell Shire in Central Australia says.

Des Rogers last night returned from Docker River, where 3604 camels have been shot.
/paste/

ref:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009 ... ion=justin

The cull is a measure of last resort. There are NO facilities in close proximity to Docker River that would allow for the safe handling & processing of the animals. Where is Docker River? In the middle of the largest island continent on Earth.

See here:- http://www.exploroz.com/Places/3365/NT/ ... unity.aspx

At the top of the map is a slider to zoom in / out.

The nearest abattoir is hundreds of kilometres away. There is no food or water at point of capture. Wild camels must be rested for 7 to 10 days after capture to de-stress before slaughter, else meat is unfit for human consumption.

Reference: http://www.camelsaust.com.au/chsuitable.htm

Besides camels, the ecosystem here is upset by all many of species of animal & plant introduced since "The First Fleet" from England in 1788.

Ironically, the famed (infamous?) Australian Redback Spider has turned up in Japan, and we have a thriving export business for parasite-free Honey Bees to the rest of the world.

I cant belive that it is still a problem, as far as I can remember about the laws in the Australian outback there are no restrictions to humting.

If that is really the case then somone should give me a grant for say $3,500 and I will do their bidding (if they pay for the ammo", but only on the basis that I get paid in full at the end, and get to eat the rewards of course.


Andy

Andy, you are right. Hunting would assist, especially if it used the control model established for Kangaroos. Commercial shooters are licensed and receive a personal quota. Evidence is indicating that a 10% ~15% cull per year keeps Kangaroo numbers at a stable level.

Otherwise, the herd populations balloon. Studies indicate that feral camels are doubling in population number about every 8 ~ 10 years.

The current waste comes about from the supply / demand situation. Currently, there is far more supply than demand. I saw abattoir data for camel processing. The present cull = around 50% of the processing of 3 commercial abattoirs for the last 10 +/- years.

If only we could boost Demand by getting the Japanese to switch from tuna & whale meat to camel meat.

Maybe Fuji TV could bring back "Iron Chief". "Tonight's battle mystery ingredient - Ozzie Camel Steaks!".

Hi,

Are we missing the forest for the trees?

Why are the camels so thirsty?

Probably because they are in a desert and, unchecked by natural predators, have been multiplying beyond sustainability.

(Much like humans, really.)

Okay -- how long have the camels been there?

And why are they so thirsty now?

Apparently, camels stopped being practical for use as work animals around 1930, so most of wild population would be around for 100-150 years now. Yay for human-introduced species! Wikipedia tells me the population is increasing at around 10% per year, and presumably they're hitting a hard resource limit around now.

In terms of timing during the year, it's summer in Australia right now, I'd imagine that's pretty dry and would make them pretty thirsty.

Neil asked, "Why are the camels thirsty, now?"

There are still drought conditions in parts of Australia. These conditions have existed for many years. Some parts of Australian continent get lots of rain. Others, get little, or nil. Problems come about when the weather patterns vary, due to El Nino and La Nina effects.

See this page at Australian Bureau of Meteorology:-

http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/silo/rain ... ime=latest

The low rainfall area in the centre of the continent is coded brown. This graphic is for the Northern Wet Season, 1 Oct to 18 Dec 2009.

Compare with this page showing the Southern Wet Season, from 1 Apr to 30 Nov 2009:-

http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/silo/rain ... ime=latest

The centre of the continent is again, brown, indicating low rainfall.

The camels are in the central desert regions, which received only low rainfalls to replenish natural water-holes, creeks and ponds. There are reports that some water-holes are dry and contain, or are surrounded by, camel bones.

It is not just camels that are affected. Last summer, farmers in some areas were shooting cattle and sheep because there was no ground feed and little / no water.

The region where I live is on the (moister) east coast. But we still have restrictions in place on water use, although not as harsh as last summer.