Having recently seen a National Geographic write up and short video (read full article for reference links) I wanted to know more about the feral camel's that were brought to Australia. According to the Department of Environment and Conservation of Western Australia the one-humped dromedary camels (Camelus dromedaries), was introduced between 1840 and 1907. Between 10,000 and 20,000 camels were used to transport and assist in exploration as settlement occurred. They were also used in Western Australian goldfields and to haul machinery, passengers, and supplies. (See website reference below)

By 1930 railroads and motor vehicles relieved the camels of their duties and most were released to the wild. Fast forward to 2007 and 500,000 camels exist in just Western Australia with an estimated total population of 1 million (round numbers are always best). This unexpected biological success has really created concern from many australian citizens including ranchers, tourism advocates, aboriginal communities, and farmers.

The Minister for the Environment, heritage and the arts website (see link below) released on July 2nd a $403 million investment for the Australian environment & sustainable agriculture which includes:

* $293 million for 56 regional organizations, more than 1,200 community groups and more than 12,000 landholders to protect and conserve Australia’s natural resources - our farming land, water, coasts, plants and animals
* $51.8 million to help deliver on the Government’s election commitment to protect the Great Barrier Reef;
* $57.5 million to support 57 significant projects across Australia, including targeting weeds such as blackberry and lantana; pests such as rabbits and protecting Ramsar wetlands.

They go on to describe the Feral Camel project in detail:

"These significant projects also include a landmark four-year, $19 million initiative to tackle the estimated one million feral camels that devastate Australia’s arid and semi-arid environments. It is the most significant commitments to tackle feral camels since they were introduced in 1840 to provide transport in arid regions of Australia. Feral camels cover an estimated 3.3 million square kilometres and cause an estimated $14 million in damage, including to fences, water troughs, bores, buildings and vegetation.

The project will cover the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia and involve natural resource management groups, conservation bodies, the pastoral industry, research organizations and state and territory governments.

It is estimated the feral camel population is doubling every nine years. This project aims to lower the population density in priority areas to less than one camel per ten square kilometers."

This means the goal is to destroy about 750,000 camels to get the population to 330,000. Which will double in nine years, to 660,000 by 2018.

In an August 25th report for the Australian Broadcasting Company this massive "culling effort" has created a debate over how to appropriately kill and dispose of the camels.

"Marilyn Ah Chee from the Alinytjara Wilurara Natural Resources Management Board says culling already takes place in some parts of Aboriginal lands. "We do it on the west side of the area but that's only because it's a threat to tourists, but I mean that's not always the solution because we don't want the tourists to see the camels lying dead on the side of the road," she said. "But on the eastern side of our area we want to do it the best way possible. "So we're looking at different methodologies of getting rid of camels."

Here are a few photos taken near Alice Springs, Central Australia of Feral Camels Being Trucked Away
http://www.flickr.com/photos/centralaustralia/4047934845/
And the full set of this beautiful region of Australia
http://www.flickr.com/photos/centralaustralia/sets/72157606044936242/

Australia Feral Camel References:
http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/science-and-research/animal-research/feral-came...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/25/2666358.htm
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091026-australia-camels-...
http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/garrett/2009/mr20090702a.html