Australia is considering proposals to kill all the wild camels that roam the outback as part of its contribution to fighting global warming.
The 1.2 million camels, considered pests by farmers and conservationists, each produce a methane equivalent of one ton of carbon dioxide a year.
That makes them collectively one of Australia's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.
But if the government goes ahead, politicians will be braced for a backlash from animal lovers, who are already a powerful voice against annual kangaroo culls.
Tim Moore, managing director of Adelaide-based Northwest Carbon, a commercial company, proposed the extermination idea to the government.
He said: 'They live anywhere from 30 to 50 years in the wild and because there're 1.2 million of them their numbers and the gases they produce are doubling every nine years.'
The camels were brought to the country by Afghan migrant workers in the 1800s to help with building roads and laying railroad tracks.
Under Mr Moore's plan, which will see the government awarding carbon credits to individuals and organisations involved in the cull, camels will be shot from helicopters or four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Others would be rounded up and sent to an abattoir for either human or pet consumption.
Culls of camels that roam in the outback reaches of four states have been carried out before, but Mr Moore's plan would involve wiping out every one of the creatures.
Mr Moore said there were particularly great job opportunities for Aborigines who joined in the project.
'I'm confident the proposal, now before the government, will get the go-ahead,' said Mr Moore.
'We're a nation of innovators and we find innovative solutions to our challenges. This is just a classic example.'
Mark Dreyfus, parliamentary secretary for climate change, said the government was considering various proposals to reduce carbon pollution - including Mr Moore's suggestion - to be included in Canberra's 'Carbon Farming Initiative'. Without nuclear power, Australia relies on coal to generate electricity, putting it among the world's worst per capita polluters. © Daily Mail, London |
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