Australian Outback town plans to cull 6,000 invading camels

The Northern Territory government announced its plan Wednesday for Docker River, a town of 350 residents where thirsty camels have been arriving daily for weeks.

“The community of Docker River is under siege by 6,000 marauding, wild camels,” local government minister Rob Knight said in Alice Springs, 310 miles (500 kilometers) northeast of Docker. “This is a very critical situation out there, it's very unusual and it needs urgent action.”

The camels, which are not native to Australia but were introduced in the 1840s, have smashed water tanks, approached houses to try to take water from air conditioning units, and knocked down fencing at the small airport runway, Knight said.

The carcasses of camels killed in stampedes at water storage areas are contaminating the water supply, he added.

The government plans to use helicopters to herd the camels about nine miles (15 kilometers) outside of town next week, where they will be shot and their carcasses left to decay in the desert.

“We don't have the luxury of time because the herd is getting bigger,” Knight said.

It is common to see some camels in the remote community, but a continuing drought and an early heat wave have dried up other water sources and forced great numbers of them into town. Much of Australia is gripped by some of the worst drought conditions on record.

In August, the federal government set aside 19 million Australian dollars for a program to slash the wild camel population, including a possible mass slaughter.

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