After five days, the authorities, who gave the order to exterminate 10,000 camels because they threatened to consume water because of their imposing thirst, ended the campaign with the death of these animals. Despite the cessation, they would have ended the same with the death of at least some 5000 wild camels in the country.
The city council of the state of South Australia said that these herds are extremely large and therefore should be reduced. According to the city council, these camels in search of water and food would have caused damage to nearby populated areas, threatening food reserves and causing damage to vehicles.
Last year, it has been the hottest and driest on the continent, which has caused fires and water shortages in the affected localities. The campaign that took place in the lands of Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY), ended abruptly on Sunday, as mentioned by the administrator of these territories, Richard KIing, where around 2,300 people live.
Faced with the complaints and the controversy caused by the decision taken to annihilate the camels, Kling says that he understands perfectly the defenders of the animals but that you are unaware of many situations that occur in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, one of the driest places and remote from the planet.
Kling explained in his statements that this decision was not taken without taking into account the major benefit. «The weakened camels are often trapped in the wells to the point of death, contaminating the scarce water supplies,» he said.
Controversy for animal advocates
The controversial decision made social networks explode and mobilized animal advocates. APY representatives justified the controversial campaign with a statement «Getting rid of wild camels is a way to curb greenhouse gas emissions.» These animals are not native to the area and emit an average of one ton of carbon dioxide per year.
