Once the
backbone of outback exploration, the nation's camels could be
headed for a desert abattoir
Once
the backbone of outback exploration, the nation's camels could
be headed for a desert abattoir. Every eight years wild camel
numbers are doubling in Australia, experts have found.. "They
thrive in the Australian desert. It's a camel paradise," said
Glenn Edwards from the Northern Territory's Parks and Wildlife
Commission. The wild camels are descendants of working animals
released into the wild when they were replaced by cars. Up to 1
million roam free through the Northern Territory and surrounding
states.
"It used to be that if you asked what was Australia's worst
vertebrate pest I would say the rabbit. That's changed a bit. In
terms of the desert country camels are now up there with feral
goats in my opinion."
One of the solutions that has been thought up is aerial shooting
of the camels, the same way as wild horses have been killed and
the reason why they are near to being endangered in the wild.
"Although the aerial shooting of large animals such as horses
and camels is a highly emotive issue, it is the most effective
and humane technique of culling large feral [herbivores] in
remote, inaccessible situations." Said one source.
The burgeoning camel industry has its own solution - an
export-licensed, halal-certified abattoir to produce camel meat
for overseas sale.
Feral Camels in Australia are now being threatened with aerial
shootings and slaughtering for their meat.
The last remaining true wild camels in China are being protected
from extinction .
www.wildcamels.com is a website and non profit dedicated to
saving the last of the wild Bactrian camels . Read about their
DNA and what makes them different from the camels in Australia!