Feral camels siege outback town

[Freuds_Cat]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/26/2753917.htm


Camels searching for water are breaking windows and doors of houses to get inside in the ooutback community of Docker River. They estimate Australia has over 1 million feral camels.

"The community of Docker River is under siege by 6,000 marauding wild camels," NT Local Government Minister Rob Knight said.
"I think the words 'under siege' are good words because it talks about people being stuck in their homes and looking out and seeing just numbers of camels at your front door," he said.
"And if they get anxious and want more water and stick their head through the window, I suppose you've then got another problem, so they're still chasing the water."

The Territory Government is spending $50,000 on a cull in the next week.

Helicopters will herd the camels 15 kilometres outside the community where they will be shot and left to decay.

[Man! all that protein just wasted when there are ppl starving in other places]

[uwe]

The logistics of doing with them anything else but shooting are of course difficult, but so is stomaching the thought of shooting them in masses in Australia while in the Middle East a small camel herd would still be heaven-sent to most poor rural families.

And I do like them as animals, but I understand that Australia is the wrong habitat for them.

[Dave W]

Sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock movie to me.

Seriously, it's sad to see them slaughtered but what else can they do?

[Pilgrim]

Sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock movie to me.

Seriously, it's sad to see them slaughtered but what else can they do?

Unless there's a camel rescue group with $$$$ that wants to round them up and ship them to the Middle East, I can't think of anything.

[Freuds_Cat]

There is a small industry that herds camels and sells them both to the Middle east as....um... transport  and also to the South East Asian  (and Australian) market for meat. It tastes OK IMHO.

[Aussie Mark]

The camels likely keep house better than the humans in that community, as you can see from the photo of the front door of one of the local homes.

[Highlander]

The real problem here is "WATER"... everyone thinks the problem in the near future is going to be "OIL", I believe it is going to be "WATER"...

[Pilgrim]

I agree.  Building in the western US is already somewhat limited by the availability of water.

[Dave W]

The camels likely keep house better than the humans in that community, as you can see from the photo of the front door of one of the local homes.

The article says "Indigenous community" so I can connect the dots. Rural, dirt poor and squalid.

[Aussie Mark]

Rural, dirt poor and squalid.

Almost, it's actually rural, very high level of Government funding and benefits, but yet still squalid.  Our indigenous people in Australia are provided for very well by our society and Government, yet they don't manage money very well - to the extent that they mistreat their children and allow them to live in squalor.  Rant over.

[Freuds_Cat]

Almost, it's actually rural, very high level of Government funding and benefits, but yet still squalid.  Our indigenous people in Australia are provided for very well by our society and Government, yet they don't manage money very well - to the extent that they mistreat their children and allow them to live in squalor.  Rant over.

Having grown up in Katherine in the Territory I probably have a slightly different perspective from Mark but completely understand why he has his view. I dont completely disagree with what he is saying but would caveat his comments with the point that a revolving door of govts of all persuasions over decades (at least since the end of the White Australia policy)  have made the mistake of believing that the way to solve a given problem is to throw money at it without taking any cultural differences into account. This is usually followed by the govt opposition blaming the sitting govt for doing exactly what said same opposition party did when they were last in power. And around and around it goes on its beauracratic way.

Its a very sad and sorry state of affairs for both our indiginous and european populations.

[uwe]

So it's not ok to say "Aborigines" anymore, you have to caveat it as "indigenous"?  

There seems to be no easy solution or even any solution to it. History can't be undone nor can the crimes against the Aborigines such as genocide and forced adoptions, apologies for that are in order as is financial support, but not if it becomes an eternal methadone program to relieve white Australia of its guilt for the past.

I also sometimes wonder what "respecting the integrity of the indigenous culture" is supposed to mean. Fence them in like some near-extinct species of animal, protect them from outside influence and pretend there is not another civilisation out there knocking at the door trying to get in?   That sounds like a zoo, National Park for humans or even a ghetto to me. I'm not a social Darwinist at all and don't wish to sound like one, but isn't evolution and progress of man based on the - make no mistake: often painful - merging, counter-influencing and mutual adaption of different cultures? Shall we disincentivize young Aborigines from leaving their culture and seeking success (or failure) in the Western World in order to preserve something that has obviously outlived itself and is unable to adapt? Shall we limit personal freedom and choice to sustain what looks like a doomed civilisation?

There, now I came out sounding like a social Darwinist alright ...  

[Lightyear]

Bah, you've got it all wrong!  Just have the them open up casinos on their land!  Instant capitalism!  Problem solved  You'd be surprised at what few million dollars net a month can do.  Lets also not forget tax free cigs either or mineral rights

[uwe]

I knew that was gonna come up and it's a valid point. The cynic in me says that if letting them open casinos and privileged mineral rights is the way to get them to sustain themselves and integrate then so be it, some patting on the head is in order given our less than great historic record with indigenous populations. That is still better than lifelong state welfare support. The issue of course is whether the money from the mining and the gambling finds its way into the community or is just shared by a few privileged participants.

[Lightyear]

I'm not an expert but it's my understanding that profits are spread amongst the the tribe, or nation, if you will.  The gambling industry supposedly isn't thrilled that the native american groups are free from the same tax laws that they have to operate under.

While they're are plenty of cons to the concept self determination has proved to be a benefit to the tribes that have done this.