NEWS //
Youth Camel Hunting on the Rise in Australia’s Aboriginal Communities
by Shabana
© BntAl3nabi
Forget adrenaline sports – a new initiative to relieve frustrated Aboriginal youths in the interiors of Australia has them hunting and butchering camels.
Substance abuse and alcoholism are rampant among teenagers in remote Aboriginal settlements like Kintore, where there are hardly any (legal) recreational opportunities to speak of. This has worried substance abuse task force experts enough to initiate camel hunting expeditions for these youngsters to channel their energy.
The camels themselves are not native Australian. Brought over from India in the 19th century for load carrying purposes, they have grown in number to become a nuisance. They threaten fragile desert ecosystems, and destroy property.
The hunting expeditions consist of teenagers accompanied by one of Kintore’s three police officers. Once an animal has been shot, it is butchered and the meat is taken back into the settlement to be shared with the community.
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June 6th, 2009
Camel meat is great and as a past time camel hunting is lots of fun.
At this point in time the government and other bodies are reconcidering camel management and in a word i think culls are on the cards.
There is around one million camel in Australia and are on the rise, arond ten percent per year. That means one million one hundred thousend next year and so on. the destruction to waterholes dune systems and cattle stations has become far to ovious. Camels also walk from sate to state making this anation wide problem.
If communities can have an active role in the culling process there is an industry there from saffiars to pet meat depending upon location.
Maybe our new nation dish should be camel pie
“We’ll eat ‘em out of the desert.”