The fates of a veritable Noah's Ark of beasts, including feral camels, cane toads, island-based rodents and the ubiquitous rabbit, were sealed yesterday when the Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, announced $403 million in spending under its Caring for our Country program.

Native species can expect to benefit from an intensified war on invasive animals, along with grazing animals, which would theoretically mean less competition for fodder.

Feral camels are top of the "to-shoot" list, in what Mr Garrett claimed would be the "most significant" effort to control their numbers since the animals were introduced in the 19th century. The Sydney Morning Herald was pushing for camel importation to ease outback transport problems in 1837, and the first dromedary, named Harry, arrived from the Canary Islands in 1840.

Within a few decades stray camels were going feral, and the Government estimates there are now a million of them roving an area of 3.3 million square kilometres in central and northern Australia.

A $19 million program aims to thin out camels to a population density of one every 10 square kilometres in "selected areas", Mr Garrett said.

Thousands of cane toads will also be put to the sword in an attempt to stem their advance any further into northern NSW, with $2 million going to community groups to bolster their various anti-toad campaigns.

Rats are also in the gunsights, with plans to eradicate them, or at least seriously deplete their numbers, on eight islands. Mutton Bird Island, a haven for migrating birds near Coffs Harbour, is included in the rat cull plan.

About 1200 community groups will get access to some sort of funding under the four-year plan, along with 12,000 farmers who are undertaking soil conservation, water recycling and land restoration work.

Mr Garrett said that $51.8 million would be allocated to improving water quality on the Great Barrier Reef, by working with farmers to reduce polluted run-off.