Growing problem: Camel numbers are increasing by up to 80,000 animals a year in remote parts of Australia.

Credit: Hans Boessem

Despite the damage they cause, camels have some positives, though, as a potential source of meat, tourism and weed control – and it is necessary to balance these considerations with the need to control them.

The new report advocates a risk-based approach to the camel plague, with the aim of managing their impacts rather than exterminate them, which is deemed an impossible task.

Reasonable limit on damage

The study calls for camel densities to be reduced to around 0.1 to 0.2 camels per square kilometre, which may involve removing an estimated 400,000 animals.

"Our overall aim is to get the population density down to one camel for every ten square kilometres eventually. This keeps the damage they do within reasonable limits. We can muster them for the meat, pet meat and leather trades, or we can control them by aerial and ground shooting," he said.

The camel herd may be larger than indicated in the report, as the last comprehensive survey was eight years ago. The authors now calls for a major new aerial survey to update estimates of the size and density of the herd.