Australian cull

Many areas of Australia were in drought conditions long before the fires started - feed was being taken from one side of the country to the other on more than one occasion so I would guess that a cull would have happened anyway at some point.
Camels were imported by some of the early explorers , several of whom died while out in Never Neverland, leaving the camels to run wild and do whatever camels do!
Large groups of them can be found mainly in Northern Territory and Western Australia.
When natural food is scarce, believe me it will be kinder for the animals to be culled rather than leave them to starve to death.

I live close to Richmond Park, where the deer are humanely culled twice a year. There are no predators to reduce numbers, so aside from the very rare event of one being hit by a car, it’s necessary to keep numbers down to what the grazing can comfortably support.

If the Aussies are culling animals to save them from dying of thirst or starvation, that would seem far more humane than the alternative.

People around the world are knitting and sewing to make pouches for orphaned marsupials which cannot survive without being in a pouch.

Cane toads are vile and proved to be absolutely useless anyway. Any other species which attempts to eat them could be poisoned so they have no predators in Australia.

As others have pointed out the camels aren't indigenous neither are the rather gross looking cane toads, I read somewhere the latter's population is out of control. It does seem when a new species from outside is introduced they can upset the delicate balance of existing eco systems.

Heartbreaking to see the sad looking Koalas on the news last night with their bandaged paws.

Absolute tragedy in every aspect.

Deer are cukked extensively throughout the UK. They do immense damage to young trees. There is a small plantation of trees near me and I can see the deer -and the damaged trees everytime I drive by.

Yes, they are lemongrove
Thank you

It's quite a different country than the UK with its own problems.

I used to love rabbit stew.?
I think the Australians will do the best things they can both to save human and animal life, and if camel culls are needed( sounds like it) then it’s being done for sound reasons.
The country is having a terrible time, without us over here playing the blame game.

The! Not them

We did it here too, Grammaretto
I remember my mother saying she would never eat rabbit again, not that I ever remember eating it anyway.

I wish they could find something to kill off them cane toads.

Deer are sometimes culled in Scotland to control numbers, because of a lack of food. The alternative is to let them starve to death. As others have said, these poor camels are likely to die anyway. It’s either dying from a gun shot or dying of thirst.

When I was a child, I can remember the poisoning of rabbits in Australia. They were deliberately given myxomatosis, a terrible disease, to control their ever increasing numbers.
This worked at first but the rabbits built resistance.

Rabbits had been introduced by the European settlers in the early 1800s.

I think the Australians have behaved impeccably, under terrible circumstances, they are doing all they can to stop these fires. They are going through enough without being criticised. From all I have seen on the news they are working tirelessly to help wildlife despite many losing their homes and possessions.

Quizqueen I do. Every species places the survival of their kind ahead of other species. Most species do not think twice about killing any organism they see as a threat.

What would you prefer. that the camels die a slow agonising death from thirst?

Camels versus Humans ?

Farmers have had to slaughter their cattle because of lack of food and water.
The sights of those fire-ravaged areas must be horrendous.
I've seen smaller areas and that's upsetting enough when you think of the wildlife that also perished.

Ask the Aboriginal people who are being affected.
They were there before the camels.

I don't know why humans think their lives are worth more than those of camels or kangaroos!

Now, not no in my post

Daisymae The majority of Australians are not going to permit culling just so as to allow some to get kicks from it. From Monica's quote it sounds reasonable to cull a proportion of the camels, which are -
1) An introduced species which are altering the balance of native species in a land where survival is difficult enough as it is.
2) Rampaging around seeking water and making life dangerous.
3) Suffering themselves in the arid and firetorn conditions.

Afghan traders (not all Afghans) used the camels to transport goods into the interior in the 1800s. Obviously theyare not used for that purpose no, have become feral andhave increased in number to well over 1 million.

The Ghan railway is named after the Afghan cameleers.

Other species introduced have caused problems eg rabbits, foxes, and the notorious cane toads.

Meddling with the balance of nature does cause problems.

Thousands of camels in South Australia will be shot dead from helicopters as a result of extreme heat and drought.
The BBC have reported it at www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-51032145 and it says

A five-day cull started on Wednesday, as Aboriginal communities in the region have reported large groups of camels damaging towns and buildings.

They are roaming the streets looking for water. We are worried about the safety of the young children", says Marita Baker, who lives in the community of Kanypi. "We have been stuck in stinking hot and uncomfortable conditions, feeling unwell, because all the camels are coming in and knocking down fences, getting in around the houses and trying to get water through air-conditioners,

The camels are not indigenous to Australia but were introduced by British colonists as a form of transport in desert areas. Unfortunately as they ceased to be needed for this purpose they were released into the desert and have become feral. With few predators, there are now over 100,000 of them, and as you can see in the quotes above they are making life for the aboriginal people who practise pastural farming in an area where water supply is now scarce both dangerous and difficult.

I think I read that it was because they were struggling without water. If it is done to save them suffering that is different to just getting rid of them

Most of Britain’s native animals were wiped out long ago and many others are teetering on extinction. I wonder whether anyone lamented the killing of the last bear, wolf or lynx or how many people have ever seen a dormouse or otter?
The Australians probably know what’s necessary in their country.

I am sure that most are not wantonly cruel but some get a kick out of killing.

We are a long way from Australia, and we don't live with all those camels (or the kangaroos) so it is not easy for us to know the drawbacks. Perhaps if we did, we would understand?

Camels are not native to Australia, so it may be that introducing them has made an imbalance with other species, which are suffering because of it?

I am sure that Australians are carefully considering what to do with their wildlife in the wake of the huge loss of life in the fires. They are not wantonly cruel people.