Wild camels hit by drought and culls
A wildlife survey has shown that the number of feral camels living in Australia has dropped by a quarter in recent years; this is thought to be due to drought and culling of the species.
A few years ago it was estimated that the camel population was around one million, however it is now thought the figure has fallen to 750,000. The decline may be due to a control plan introduced in 2010, endorsed by the Government, to reduce camel densities through culling and mustering the animals for sale.
With few natural predators and vast sparsely-populated areas in which to roam, feral camels have put pressure on native Australian species by reducing food sources and destroying habitat.
Jan Ferguson, from Ninti One, the non-for-profit organisation which manages The Australian Feral Camel Management Project (AFCMP) said: "Between 2001 and 2008, it was estimated that there could have been as many as a million feral camels in the outback. Since then, however, there has been a major drought, the feral camel management programme has come into effect and population survey techniques have been improved."
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
