CAMELS in WA's north are causing major problems and according to pastoralists the situation is going to get worse.
A Feral Camel Management Project that started this year, will provide $19 million over four years to assist with the problem. But station owners believe unless a long term solution is found the camel numbers will continue to rise and the situation will get out of hand.
Jim Motter, Bulka station, shoots about 120 camels every year from the 200 roaming on his property and said the current situation was not a catastrophe but soon would be if a solution was not implemented to eradicate the animals completely.
"The camels aren't really degrading the land but they are making a hell of a mess with the fences and they are drinking all the water," Mr Motter said.
"If we have to use a helicopter to shoot them it costs us a couple of thousand dollars for about four hours work."
There are about one million feral camels in remote Australia that cause more than $14m worth of damage to infrastructure and livelihoods each year and the numbers are doubling every nine years.
Mr Motter, who runs about 7500 cattle on his property, said there needed to be a culling program that targeted the camels from all sides of the affected area – from the Kimberley in WA the Northern Territory and the top part of South Australia.
"They need to have a combined unit that looks at an eradication program rather than just a management solution for the short term," Mr Motter said.
Warrawagine station owner Robin Mills said camels were not only damaging spear gates and boundary fences on properties but they were greatly affecting Aboriginal communities in the north, destroying pristine water holes.
"They tell you there are no kangaroos and emus out there anymore because they can't compete with the camels," Mr Mills said.
"The camels are also destroying their bush tucker and bush medicine.
"We've got to look at the affect the camels have on the millions of hectares between WA and the Northern Territory and the top end of South Australian: the camels are basically destroying that," he said.
Mr Mills said many water holes were ruined from the camel waste and dead camels rotting in the water and said it costs some Aboriginal communities about $40,000 a year to repair damages to fences, water supplies and air strips.
"What we have to look at is the future and the problem is going to get worse," Mr Mills said. "If the land can't handle what's there now, it certainly won't be able to handle it as time goes by."
Mr Mills said the $19 million project was a good start, but the State Government had to match dollar for dollar if the project was to be successful.
A spokesman for Ninti One said several management techniques were being used in the Feral Camel Management Project such as aerial and ground culling and mustering, for removal to abattoirs for processing for human consumption and pet meat.
"One of the difficulties of managing feral camels is that they are nomadic animals and can travel great distances in short periods and assessing numbers in a region or state is challenging," the spokesman said.
"State and Territory governments hold aerial surveillance to monitor camel densities and establish areas that are hot spots."
The spokesman said the $19m available for the project was from the Australian Government's Caring for our Country Program and it was expected the other partners in the project would contribute similar resources in terms of cash and in-kind contributions.
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