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By Richard Shears


Pests: Camels were first introduced to Australia in the 1900s by Afghan migrant workers


Australia is considering proposals to kill all the wild camels that roam the outback as part of its contribution to fighting global warming.

The 1.2 million camels, considered pests by farmers and conservationists, each produce a methane equivalent of one ton of carbon dioxide a year.

That makes them collectively one of the Australia's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.


But if the government goes ahead, politicians will be braced for a backlash from animal lovers, who are already a powerful voice against annual kangaroo culls.

Tim Moore, managing director of Adelaide-based Northwest Carbon, a commercial company, proposed the extermination idea to the government.

He said: 'They live anywhere from 30 to 50 years in the wild and because there's 1.2 million of them their numbers and the gases they produce are doubling every nine years.'

The camels were brought to the country by Afghan migrant workers in the 1800s to help with building roads and laying railroad tracks.

Under Mr Moore's plan, which will see the government awarding carbon credits to individuals and organisations involved in the cull, camels will be shot from helicopters or four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Others would be rounded up and sent to an abattoir for either human or pet consumption.

Culls of camels that roam in the outback reaches of four states have been carried out before, but Mr Moore's plan would involve wiping out every one of the creatures.


Feral: The plan would see camels shot from helicopter or 4x4, or rounded up and sent to abattoirs to be turned into pet food


Mr Moore said there were particularly great job opportunities for Aborigines who joined in the project.

'I'm confident the proposal, now before the government, will get the go-ahead,' said Mr Moore.

'We're a nation of innovators and we find innovative solutions to our challenges. This is just a classic example.'

Mark Dreyfus, parliamentary secretary for climate change, said the government was considering various proposals to reduce carbon pollution - including Mr Moore's suggestion - to be included in Canberra's 'Carbon Farming Initiative'.

Without nuclear power, Australia relies on coal to generate electricity, putting it among the world's worst per capita polluters.



source:dailymail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Battle: Afghan festival-goers watch as a camel fight starts during the second day of Persian New Year celebrations in Mazar-i Sharif, northern Afghanistan


An Afghan camel's life is not an easy one. If they survive the arid conditions, heavy work and littering of landmines that characterise this war-torn country, they still have one more test to face: camel fighting.

Afghans gathered in their hundreds of thousands in Mazar-e-Sharif last week to watch this spectacular duel of the dromedaries - part of the celebrations for Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

The male camels, which can stand up to 2m tall and weigh up to half a tonne, go head to head in a 10-minute showdown, slamming necks and butting heads as raucous crowds watch and gamble on the outcome.


Brains not brawn: As well as using sheer brute force, camel wrestlers feint and sweep their opponents legs to try and win a submission


And there's only one thing that will get these usually placid ships of the desert to turn so fierce - mating season.

Once the two bulls are led out into the arena, a young cow is paraded around to get them excited. The beasts are ready to clash, the trainers know, when streams of viscous milky saliva begin to stream from their mouths and nostrils.

Once the two bulls will get down to it and actually try to wrestle one another they do not simply use brute force. They wrestle artfully, feinting in here and there, eventually locking a fore-leg inside the leg of the opposition and leaning on him to topple him over in a dromedary's version of a wrestling fall and pin.


Savage: Camel fights do not usually end tragically, but have been condemned by animal rights campaigners for their brutality


The fights, while savage, are not usually fatal. Each camel's mouth is tied tightly closed to prevent biting. Often the loser will run into the crowd of spectators causing panic as onlookers try not to get trampled. Other hazards include splashes of viscous camel spittle.

In Turkey, the spiritual home of camel-wrestling, fights are far more organised - and high profile. There the camel wrestlers are considered the body builders of their species, and they are carefully fed so as to be enormous. The best specimens are regarded as well-formed martial artists, and they are prized by their owners.

The annual Selcuk championship, named for the western city where the event takes place, draws roughly 20,000 fight fans. Bizarrely, they also enjoy eating camel meat while watching the duels.


Celebration: Afghans gather around the Shrine of saint Sakhi Saib, Kabul, as they celebrate the Persian New Year


The Persian New Year, which has been celebrated for at least 3,000 years, is the most revered celebration in the greater Persian world, which includes the countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and portions of western China and northern Iraq.

It started on March 21 and coincides with the astronomical vernal equinox.


source: dailymail