Farting camels on carbon hit list
Camels have no natural predators in Australia.
June 9th, 2011
02:42 PM ET

Farting camels on carbon hit list

OK, so apparently Australia's interior desert is overrun with more than a million camels that nobody owns.

Furthermore, Australia is looking for ways to reduce its agricultural greenhouse gas emissions under something known as the Carbon Farming Initiative.

How are these facts related, you say? We're glad you asked.

It seems these feral camels are known to, well, emit a lot of greenhouse gases, if you get our meaning.

In response, an Australian entrepreneur has submitted a proposal to the initiative to improve the air down under by shooting the dromedaries where they stand.

Or, as a headline on the Australian blog The Register concisely put it: FARTING DEATH CAMELS MUST DIE.

Dr. Tim Moore, managing director of a company called Northwest Carbon, proposes "removal" of all of the methane-spewing ships of the desert.

The document defines "removal" as "an activity ... that causes the untimely demise of the feral animal (camel) through humane means."

Among those means are shooting the camels from helicopters and four-wheelers, and rounding them up for slaughter and use as food for humans and pets.

"The project abatement methodology meets the CFI requirements for additionality, permanence, avoidance of leakage, measureable and verifiable emissions reductions, conservative estimation of benefit, is consistent with international accounting procedures, and is well supported by peer-reviewed literature," the proposal states.

The document acknowledges that the helicopters, four-wheelers and abattoirs will burn fossil fuels in the process of culling the camels, which many Australians consider plant-trampling nuisances that compete with cattle herds and native species for pasture land.

Conservationists and animal rights activists are divided on the plan. While there's no question the non-native species wreaks havoc on the environment, vegans say cattle farms are far worse.

Dromedaries (single-humped camels) were imported to Australia in the 19th century from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan to help build roads and railroads, according to the Daily Mail.

Mark Dreyfus, parliamentary secretary for climate change, told the Daily Mail the government is taking the proposal under consideration.

"I'm confident the proposal, now before the government, will get the go-ahead," Moore told the Daily Mail. "We're a nation of innovators and we find innovative solutions to our challenges. This is just a classic example."

 Post by:
Filed under: Animals • Australia • Camels • Climate change • Earth • Environment
soundoff (53 Responses)
  1. spinmonkey

    that's a typical human response isn't it?... if it's in the way, kill and eat it... especially if we can tie it to some politically correct environmental agenda...
    .
    Go Humans!

    June 10, 2011 at 7:16 am | Report abuse |
    • wjmknight

      A million non-native animals are overrunning thir country, what's your solution Einstein, or do you just sit on a pedstal and b!t<h and moan? Let me guess, you porbably think we should kill a million humans first, right? Go on, say it. You know you want to.

      June 10, 2011 at 8:56 am | Report abuse |
    • Geronimo, NYC

      It is the same thing, we are citizens of earth. It is ok to kill humans to save wild life

      November 22, 2011 at 2:46 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Bert Allmighty

    Camels are farting enough to cause enviromental problems?? Really hard to believe. I guess I have to be careful not to fart in Sydney....might get shot.

    June 10, 2011 at 7:24 am | Report abuse |
  3. unowhoitsme

    Blame it on the camels...humans do so much more destruction. Why not work on that problem first?

    June 10, 2011 at 7:30 am | Report abuse |
    • wjmknight

      Do you really think we should tell the Australians, "Sorry, but you can't do anything to solve your problem because there are bigger issues to solve? What exactly offends your middle class white suburban American values that prohibts people from solving problems affecting them locally?

      June 10, 2011 at 9:00 am | Report abuse |
  4. The Fonze

    Ayyyyyyy.

    June 10, 2011 at 8:12 am | Report abuse |
  5. Casey

    Are humans really this stupid? If we needed to cull the herds because they were starving to death–FINE. Or killing humans in cities....but flatulence means their destruction? Makes me ashamed to be human. I wonder where Numbskull Al Gore stands on this one.

    June 10, 2011 at 8:32 am | Report abuse |
    • RG

      I'm quite sure Al Gore would stand upwind.

      June 10, 2011 at 9:45 am | Report abuse |
  6. CamelHater

    I knew it was those blasted farting camels.... and to think that us humans thought we were the problem. Take that Al Gore!!

    June 10, 2011 at 8:43 am | Report abuse |
  7. Jannynet

    This whole article and the comments posted have made my day. So much more valuable than Weiner comments. I mean farts are much more entertaining than tacky x-rated pictures that wouldn't make the grade in Penthouse. Hooray for the "fartin' camels! Send Sarah in, she'll know how to fix this and the Salahi's (sp) for the photo op.

    June 10, 2011 at 8:43 am | Report abuse |
  8. zeus-z

    dumbest thing I ever heard. Im so sure farting camels are such a threat.

    June 10, 2011 at 9:01 am | Report abuse |
  9. RG

    A mode of transportation that makes it's own gas! Brilliant! Give the oil back to the Arabs and buy their camels instead.

    June 10, 2011 at 9:16 am | Report abuse |
  10. RG

    I've heard their toes are a delicacy.

    June 10, 2011 at 9:47 am | Report abuse |
  11. WS

    Australian problem – Farting camels
    USA problem _ Farting politicians

    June 10, 2011 at 10:22 am | Report abuse |
  12. campthisearth

    let's send Sara Palin to Australia then! She's good at shooting animals from airplanes. ....and I wonder what camels taste like

    June 10, 2011 at 4:46 pm | Report abuse |
  13. NaplesMuse

    These camels represent a RENEWABLE source of methane! Why not get the camels to produce for us in captivity, then pressurize this powerful gas, and send it to America's politicians for their limos? We could also sell it to the thousands of mindless college students who constantly feel the need to sniff and snort stuff like this.

    June 16, 2011 at 4:41 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Thad

    your comments (for the most part) remind me of vegetarian's not liking cows being killed for food. my steak was amazing. youre welcome for youre expensive shoes/boots/car seats

    June 17, 2011 at 2:20 am | Report abuse |
1 2 3
« Back to main