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Major cull of feral camels underway
Feral camels are said to emerging from the arid landscape into nearby communities in search of water.
Cull not linked to Australia’s recent bushfires

A major cull of thousands of feral camels is underway in South Australia owing to extreme heat and drought.

The move comes after aboriginal communities in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) region said thousands of camels had been damaging their houses and other buildings.

In a statement, the APY said that feral camels are emerging from an arid landscape and moving into nearby communities in search of water. The cull is expected to last around five days and is being supported by the Department for Environment and Water.

APY's general manager Richard King said: “There is extreme pressure on remote Aboirignal [sic] communities in the APY lands and their pastoral [livestock] operations as the camels search for water. Given ongoing dry conditions and the large camel congregations threatening all of the main APY communities and infrastructure, immediate camel control is needed."

According to BBC News, the cull is not connected to Australia’s recent bushfires. Large regions of Australia have been in drought for many years.

APY executive board member Marita Baker, said: “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.

"They are roaming the streets looking for water. We are worried about the safety of the young children”.

The cull of the camels, along with some feral horses, is being carried out by aerial marksmen from Australia’s Department for Environment and Water.

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RCVS Knowledge appoints Veterinary Evidence editor-in-chief

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence.

A world-renowned expert in evidence-based veterinary medicine, Prof Cockcroft will lead the strategic development and editorial quality of the open-access journal. He was previously in the role from 2017-2020.

Katie Mantell, CEO of RCVS Knowledge, said: "We are excited about the extensive knowledge of evidence-based veterinary medicine and clinical veterinary research that Peter brings, and we look forward to working with him over this next phase of the journal's development." 

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News Shorts
CVS Group hit by cyber attack

CVS Group, which owns more than 450 veterinary practices in the UK, has been hit by a cyber attack.

In a statement, the group said the incident involved unauthorised external access to a limited number of its IT systems. As soon as the attack was discovered, the group took its IT systems temporarily offline, causing 'considerable operational disruption'.

It has warned that the security steps taken and ongoing plans to move its operational systems and IT infrastructure to the Cloud are likely to have an ongoing impact over a number of weeks.

Due to the risk that personal information was accessed, CVS has informed the Information Commissioner's Office. The company is working with third party consultants to investigate the incident.