THE Federal Government will spend $19 million to cull camels in northern and western Australia as part of a $400 million package of environmental grants.
The culling program will be undertaken by the Desert Knowledge Co-operative Research Centre.
It will require helicopters to shoot the animals in more remote parts of Central Australia.
Camels are regarded as one of Australia's worst feral pests.
They cause $14 million damage to infrastructure and a number of road deaths, through collisions, each year.
Camels also adversely affect native species by trampling habitats and blocking sparse watering holes in the desert.
This proposal brings together for the first time all the state and territory governments in SA, WA, QLD and NT, Aboriginal organisations, NRM Boards, conservation groups, the pastoral industry, commercial interests and research organisations.
The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (DKCRC) and its partners say the news that the Government had chosen to support its application to the Caring for our Country program for the management of feral camels will have a major impact.
The proposal outlines how camel numbers can be reduced to preserve biodiversity and cultural values in remote Australia, and reduce damage to pastoral and settlement infrastructure.
“Our application for a ‘large’ grant in this round is the only one to have been selected to proceed” says the DKCRC managing director, Jan Ferguson.
"We will now work the Federal, State and Territory Governments, and all of our industry and other partners to develop and implement the 4-year, $19 million dollar project."
