OMFGG Thousand of camels to be culled

[Tortington]

here

I never even knew that there were camels there. I am not usually an animal activist as such but this seems so extreme.

I am going to have to leave a comment

Why is everyone assuming that the hunts will be done by "rednecks" or wealthy individuals? Maybe the "rednecks" who are doing the hunting are in fact highly skilled sportsman? As Morloth pointed out, tracking camels in a camel-coloured desert for days on end is no easy task.
Soooooooooooo many class prejudices coming out in this thread. And, as I said before, if you don't cull the camels, what alternative do you propose?

Culls organised and led by teh government, bleh, with the aim of sorting out a problem as humanely as possible.

Not private hunts run as money-making ventures with the aim of giving people the thrill of killing.

LaurieFairyCake "I also think they should be culled humanely by extremely qualified professionals - I bet there's a human way to dart them/ stun them and then kill them."

You volunteering to pay for that? Of course the government should be doing it, but it costs an astonishing amount of money (see my previous thread about trackers/supplies/helicopters). You think the previously mentioned snipers protecting the penguin nests are free?

If someone can make money while doing a public service then all the better.

Also "rednecks" tend to be an excellent shot because they are locals and use guns on a daily basis. I know I am. Being able to hit a rabbit from the back of a moving vehicle takes quite a lot of skill actually. I was taught to shoot when I was around 6 years old (I still remember being knocked on my arse from the kickback of my dad's 12 gauge), it is a different world to here.

I love Brits, but you guys a little bit mad when it comes to animals. I assume it is because you have never had to shoot a beloved dog because it has become a sheep killer, or do the same for a favourite horse cause 2 of its legs are broken. If you get too attached your heart will break so you don't get attached at all.

It's not exactly a fair fight, though, is it? A human being with a gun v. a wild animal? Human beings have managed to eliminate quite a few other species - we should not be pretending there's anything big or clever in our appetite for destruction.

The whole camel thing was caused by stupid humans in the first place, ditto rabbits - and we think we are entitled to make it into a game? It's sick.

It is not supposed to be a fair fight edam wouldn't be much point in that would it?

Of course the camels and the toads and all the other animals shouldn't have been introduced in the first place, but they have been (and in the case of camels I understand why they were - do you know the history of the Afghan that links Sydney to Perth?).

It is damage control time.

Yes Morloth I think the government should pay for that and raise taxes for them to be culled humanely. I mean twattish humans introduced them in the first - yes they should pay for their mistakes.

I'm not 'a bit mad when it comes to animals', I have chickens and I have put animals out of their misery - humanely.

I think making a bunch of camels stressed and dying horribly in pain is disgusting, particularly when it's the fucking idiot humans who introduced them.

There is a middle way you know, it's not just 'I'm well-ard me' and 'I'm a wet liberal veggie' - how about instead we respect animals and kill them when we have to in a humane, non-stressful way?

But if hunters admit it's not a fair fight, they should drop all the talk about skill.

So you don't shoot them and they all starve to death as there is ot enough for them to eat, quick death or long death I know which one I'd prefer.

Well as long as they eat them /use them for dog meat etc then it makes sense. At least the Australians make a point of trying to preserve their native species, customs laws and all that. In the Uk we're much more hypocritical.

All a professional is, is someone whos paid to do a job. Experts are what are needed and probably most of these redneck guys are experts. Hunting/shooting is part of their way of life.

So you can shoot then edam? Cleanly? My dad could hit a 20c coin from an incredible distance and get the shot straight through the centre, he could take down a charging boar with 2 shots (their hides are tough even a 12 gauge can bounce off). Plenty of skill required.

I am not claiming to be "well hard" Laurie, but I do have a hard heart when it comes to animals. I have also tried to explain why people think this is OK because I feel I actually have some ideas of what is at stake and what is going on. I can't think of a single way to hunt down and shoot a camel that doesn't involve stress to the camel. The most efficient way would be from the air, either in a light plane or chopper, that causes a lot of stress though because they run.

Look at this photo (just a random google) and explain to me how you think a landscape like that can support large hoofed animals (there is no rain, they eat all of the vegetation, their hoofs tear up the topsoil and it is blown away), all the native animals and the sheep and cattle required (and unless you are 100% sure you have never ever purchased any Australian animal products don't even think about saying the sheep and cattle shouldn't be here).

This does annoy me a bit tbh because I think it is city folk bleeding liberals who have no idea what they are even talking about who hamstring the actual people on the ground making the decisions and taking action. Like the morons who stopped the backburning operations in Victoria.

Having been raised (at least part time) out there, I simply cannot see where you are a coming from.

They could be shot with a tranquilizer dart and then killed afterwards from the air/ground once unconscious.

The problem I have is with them seeing their herd die - if they were shot with tranquilisers then they would walk on a bit and then gradually collapse but the drugs would prevent stress.

In other words I think they should be killed with the same humane standards as we have in the UK - cows and sheep are tranquilized first - to be crude it makes the meat better too as the animals haven't died in stress.

So there you are, I've thought of the way it could be done - it involves an extra step (being shot twice) - just like we have here.

Not sure if the 'city folk bleeding liberals' is aimed at me but I'm from the country.

Yes but you are from a "soft" country (I mean no disrespect, it is wonderful here, I can't believe how green and soft and small and tidy it is! Someone once told me it was a long drive from London to York!).

Can you understand how many there are? Can you understand the sheer scope and cost of the hunts? Can you understand the distances you need to travel to even find them?

There is a problem in Australia with tourists driving into the desert (even the fringes) without sufficient supplies and breaking down on the road. They then get out of the car thinking they can walk to get help. They almost always die. There is a British idiot who was just released from hospital after being lost in the Blue Mountains for two weeks. You can take a wrong turning from a suburb in the mountains and be totally disoriented and get yourself killed, from a suburb.

You cannot apply UK (or European) farming/humane standards to a completely different ecosystem/culture. THAT is what got us into this mess in the first place. I don't particularly like the tigers in Asia being killed, but I understand why someone would choose their village and the humans over the tigers, the same for elephants. I don't like it but I can see why they kill them.

Same with the brumbies, most Australians love the wild horses, they are tied up deeply with our history and what makes us "us". But they are a larged hoofed animal which are running riot and need to be culled. You have to put your personal feelings about animals aside and do what needs to be done sometimes.

Anyway I am off to enjoy some of your gentle sunshine in a lovely green park.

Lauriefairycake - I suggest you visit a commercial abbatoir in the UK if you think that it is a humane death. It is actually quite horrible - the cattle/sheep/pigs know they are going to die as they smell the blood of the other animals and it is very far from being a stress-free end (and that is quite apart from the several hour journey they have had crammed into a lorry before reaching the abbatoir). If you want truly untainted meat you need to raise a beast from birth, create a bond with it so it trusts you and then kill it with a bullet to the brain. No stress, no fear, nice sweet meat.

If you are serious about your stance on the Ozzie camels (and quite frankly, tranqing and then killing is about as expensive and unfeasible as you can get) then I hope that you are a vegan in the UK because otherwise you're just as hypocritical as people who object to me eating rabbit and who then tuck into their £5 chicken from Tesco.

"Why is everyone assuming that the hunts will be done by "rednecks" or wealthy individuals? Maybe the "rednecks" who are doing the hunting are in fact highly skilled sportsman? As Morloth pointed out, tracking camels in a camel-coloured desert for days on end is no easy task.
Soooooooooooo many class prejudices coming out in this thread. And, as I said before, if you don't cull the camels, what alternative do you propose?"

See, this is what happens when you assume that I (or rather all posters) are using the word 'redneck' as a pejorative. I don't. I have in my time met some well educated, eloquent and charming people who are happy to call themselves 'rednecks'. They were also happy and responsible gun owners and hunters. I have even dated one or two self admitted rednecks.

I agree that tracking camels for the kill can be a highly skilled and exhausting sport. I am however willing to wager that the paid hunting will more likely be done from small helicopters when small herds of camels are spotted, chased then shot from the air.

This way you can charge people tens of thousands for 'sport' and people can brag about shooting camels over the weekend. An odd juxtaposition I admit but it will share similarities with Glastonbury, Wimbledon and Rugby World Cup are now corporate events bragging venues.

"They escaped from human captivity anyway. "

Ha ha ha. NO.

(tens of) thousands were released into the wild when it was no longer profitable to own them.

A gov't run cull can hire the same locals/rednecks to cull the camels. This way, the local populations of the outback can have gainful employment for quite a few years. That is more akin to sustainability. Not to let a few private tourist companies earn big £££s to bring outsiders solely for sport. 90% of this sort of tourist money never reach the area in the tourists actually visit.

how can you be omfgg about this

thousands of children are kidnapped in ONE CITY in india every year for a. prostitution b. organ donation c. slave labour

now you can say omfgg

oy, llama, the camel is your first cousin.

Why get the government to spend money when someone else will do it for free?

"Yes Morloth I think the government should pay for that and raise taxes for them to be culled humanely"

So tax paying Australians should pay yet more tax to have these animals culled? I don't think that that would go down well AT ALL!

Camel culling tax. Interesting!

Well said Callisto