Australia bushfires: Australia will kill thousands of camels because they drink too much water

Australia on began a five-day cull of up to 10,000 camels, as they drink too much water amid the wildfires, using sniper fire from helicopters. The exercise is taking place in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (called APY Lands) in South Australia state, where the animals will be killed according to the “highest standards of animal welfare”. Some 1,500 camels were killed on the first day of the cull on Thursday.

Camels in Australia, which number over 10 lakh today, were first brought to the continent in the late 19th century from India, when Australia’s massive interior region was first being discovered. Over 20,000 were imported from India between the 1840s and the 1900s. Australia is now believed to have the largest wild camel population in the world, with officials estimating that up to 1 million camels are currently roaming the country’s inland deserts.

The planned killing of the camels comes at a time the country is ravaged by wildfires since November. The disaster has killed more than a dozen people and caused the displacement or deaths of 480 million animals, according to University of Sydney researchers.

Australia experienced its warmest and driest year on record in 2019, the country’s weather bureau announced on Thursday.