Energy News  
Eat camels to protect environment, Aussies told

Unlike the native kangaroo, camels were introduced into Australia as pack animals for the vast outback in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, but were released into the wild as rail and road travel became more widespread.
by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Dec 9, 2008
Australians were urged Tuesday to eat camels to stop them wreaking environmental havoc, just months after being told to save the world from climate change by consuming kangaroos.

A three-year study has found that Australia's population of more than a million feral camels -- the largest wild herd on earth -- is out of control and damaging fragile desert ecosystems and water sources.

The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, which produced the report, plans to serve camel meat at a barbecue for senior public servants in Canberra on Wednesday to press its point.

Report co-author Professor Murray McGregor said a good way to bring down the number of camels was to eat them.

"Eat a camel today, I've done it," he told the national AAP news agency.

"It's beautiful meat. It's a bit like beef. It's as lean as lean, it's an excellent health food."

Similar claims are made for kangaroo meat, but the rationale for farming and eating the national emblem -- as outlined by the government's chief climate change adviser in October -- is different.

Millions of farm animals such as cows and sheep produce massive amounts of harmful greenhouse gases, said Professor Ross Garnaut, but kangaroos emit negligible amounts of methane.

Unlike the native kangaroo, camels were introduced into Australia as pack animals for the vast outback in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, but were released into the wild as rail and road travel became more widespread.

The country has wrestled for years with imported animals brought in as beasts of burden, food sources, for recreational hunting or, ironically, to control agricultural pests.

The Department of the Environment lists animals of "significant concern" as including feral camels, horses, donkeys, pigs, European wild rabbits, European red foxes, cats, goats and cane toads.

With few natural predators and vast sparsely populated areas in which to roam, the populations have soared, putting pressure on native species by preying on them, competing for food, destroying habitats and spreading disease.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Aussie scientists use toxic mash to turn predators off toads
Sydney (AFP) Dec 9, 2008
Australian scientists are serving up mashed cane toad with a dash of poison to put predators off eating the toxic aliens.







  • China dismisses Japan criticism over ship incident
  • Greenland dreams of oil riches on road to independence
  • Hot rocks: Africa's Rift Valley is geothermal gold mine
  • Tanker group calls for fairness on eve of oil spill appeal

  • EU backs plan to build nuclear fuel bank by 2010: Solana
  • NKorea talks look at new Chinese proposal
  • New Insights On Fusion Power
  • French firm EDF claims 89 pct of British Energy

  • ESA Tests Laser To Measure Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
  • Asia not responsible for 'brown haze': India
  • NRL's SHIMMER Observes Earth's Highest Clouds
  • Brown clouds of pollution a huge threat to Asia: UN

  • Ghana's 'miracle': logging underwater forests for exotic timber
  • Thwarting Efforts To Use Carbon Markets To Halt Deforestation
  • Climate change putting forests at risk
  • Brazil plans to cut deforestation by 70 pct over 10 years

  • 30 years after reform, China farmers once again hope for change
  • China to launch food safety campaign
  • Aussie scientists use toxic mash to turn predators off toads
  • Soybean genome available

  • Fate of auto giants hangs by thread
  • German automakers denounce EU compromise on CO2 emissions
  • EU nations agree on car emission cuts
  • Sanyo to launch new electric hybrid bicycle

  • Climate protesters cause chaos at British airport
  • Thompson Files: Protect U.S. aerospace
  • NASA studies pilot cognition
  • China postpones talks with Airbus: spokesman

  • Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2
  • Nuclear Power In Space
  • Outside View: Nuclear future in space

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement