Hi all,
Great to hear Mike's well-reasoned argument on this, and I agree
wholeheartedly! But it doesn't just apply to camels, nor even only to 'exotic'
pests.
When we humans act to interfere with nature such that one species is
'adversely' advantaged over another, then sometimes, we must have the courage
to act to try to redress that balance. It might be camels in outback
Australia, or it might be lyrebirds, kookaburras or some other 'native'
Australian species introduced to areas where they do not belong, adversely
affecting local or endemic species. Let's not be prevented from taking
unsavoury but necessary remedial action for the sake of the species which our
human-induced imbalances have threatened.
Lest this seem to be all too 'theoretical': Our Primary Industries and
Environment Department here in Tassie - DPIPWE - have been trying to organise a
task-force and cull of introduced Rainbow Lorikeets, in an attempt to reduce
potential feeding and nest-hollow pressures on the endangered Swift Parrot. I
have been involved in helping with the campaign, and speaking out publicly in
support of it. For this I have been roundly criticised, not only by
"...deluded animal rights campaigners..." (Mike's words), but also by some from
within the Birds-Australia/Birding-Aus fraternity.
John Tongue
Ulverstone, Tas.
On 21/06/2011, at 11:45 AM, Mark Carter wrote:
> Hi Brian,
>
> I'm glad to see that someone out there understands this issue. Its one I've
> become quite passionate about through living in the outback and seeing the
> shocking impact these massive destructive animals are having on fragile
> desert lands. Its not as off topic as you might imagine: having seen remote
> waterholes which once provided a lifeline to breeding reed warblers, crakes &
> grebes completely wrecked by camel herds, not to mention all the long-lived
> quondong and pittosporum trees smashed as they search for browse I am
> convinced that their impact on desert birds is tangible and significant.
> I am increasingly horrified that deluded animal rights campaigners sometimes
> seem to be hijacking the debate which makes the politicians nervous about
> backing the cull. In recent years they have used every cynical argument to
> undermine the proposed cull, some of them even advocating sending the camels
> for halal slaughter as some sort of a 'humane' alternative to aerial shoots.
> Of course their goal isn't to help out the camel meat trade- its simply to
> sabotage the cull.
> Despite all the talk, the camel meat industry is a pipe dream- it has never
> gotten off the ground for good reasons. I buy camel meat regularly but I must
> say the quality is extremely variable. Most Aussies don't want to eat it and
> the much vaunted Arab markets for the meat have never materialised.
> The cull might seem like a waste to some from a distance but considering our
> desert soils are the least fertile on earth letting these huge animals be
> re-cycled back into the ecosystem is probably the best use for most of them.
> We cheerfully put blood and bone in our gardens but seem squeamish about
> doing the same for our deserts.
> I personally would like to see the camel fully eradicated. Presently, with no
> predators and no significant population containment pressure at all they are
> simply a plague species and have no place in the ecology of the outback. Our
> predecessors created this problem so we have a responsibility to sort it out.
>
> Mark Carter
> Alice Springs
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