Cross-jurisdictional management of feral camels to protect NRM and cultural values

Feral camels are well adapted to the conditions found in desert Australia and have now occupied 3.3 million km². They are one of the 73 or so species of introduced vertebrates occurring on mainland Australia that do not meet the criteria to justify eradication effort. For such species, the management options are containment, control, or no management (Australian Pest Animal Strategy 2007).

Because they occur in sparsely populated areas, feral camels are only noticed when their activities intersect with remote Aboriginal people, pastoralists, and the tourism and mining industries. The significant damage that camels have done, and are currently doing, to the fragile ecosystems, cultural sites, isolated communities, and pastoral enterprises of desert Australia has gone largely unnoticed by the bulk of Australia’s population. The current estimated population of about one million feral camels is doubling approximately every nine years (Saalfeld & Edwards 2008) and there is evidence that impacts will increase along with the population (Edwards et al. 2008). If we do not act now to mitigate the damage being caused by feral camels, irreparable damage may be done, particularly to environmental and cultural values, across much of desert Australia. The longer we take to act, the more it will cost to manage and repair the negative impacts of feral camels.

Management of the impacts of pest animals should be informed by a risk management approach and be strategic in determining where management should occur, at what time, and what techniques should be used (Australian Pest Animal Strategy 2007). It requires coordination at the appropriate scale among all levels of government in partnership with industry, land managers, and the community (Australian Pest Animal Strategy 2007). The current management of feral camels, being largely ad hoc (Edwards et al. 2004), fails to adequately meet any of these criteria.

If we are to develop a strategic, coordinated risk management approach to mitigating the impacts of feral camels, it must be done at the national scale because:

• There is a large population of camels occurring over a large area which includes parts of Western Australia (WA), South Australia (SA), Queensland (Qld), and the Northern Territory (NT) (Saalfeld & Edwards 2008).
• Camels are very mobile animals that can move over large distances in relatively short time periods (Saalfeld & Edwards 2008).
• Many camels occur in very remote areas that are sparsely populated by people (Saalfeld & Edwards 2008, Saalfeld et al. 2008).
• There are differing perceptions on feral camels and their impacts (Zeng & Edwards 2008a, 2008b; Vaarzon-Morel 2008a).
• Camels are considered both a pest and a resource (Edwards et al. 2008), which can lead to conflicting goals between the various stakeholders in respect of their management.

The research described in this report was funded by the Australian Government. It was conducted with the overarching aim of developing a national management framework which will lead to a reduction in camel numbers to a level that reverses their current population growth trajectory and reduces their impacts on natural resource management (NRM), economic, and social-cultural values.

The key outputs of the research were:

1. Detailed analysis of management system options that lead to a significant lowering of camel numbers and resulting improvement in economic, environmental, and social/cultural values
2. Improved understanding and documentation of the cultural and other barriers to different feral camel management options
3. An analysis and documentation of the role of at least two alternative market-driven approaches to camel control that can help to mitigate the negative impacts of the species
4. Development of a framework for the cross-jurisdictional management of the negative impacts of feral camels.

The overarching aim of developing a management framework for addressing the negative impacts of feral camels was achieved through a group of well-integrated sub-projects, based on a collaboration between different stakeholder groups, in a range of jurisdictions, working on a series of related projects across the country. The research was undertaken through five core sub-projects:

1. Evaluation of key stakeholder perceptions: This work focused on Aboriginal, conservation, and pastoral land owners and managers within the camel’s range.
2. Evaluation of the impacts of feral camels: This work adopted a triple bottom line approach in considering economic, environmental, and social (including cultural) criteria.
3. Evaluation of commercial approaches that could assist in managing the negative impacts of feral camels: This work considered aspects such as the live export of camels and the use of camels for pet meat and for human consumption.
4. Evaluation of the non-commercial approaches that are or could be used in the management of the negative impacts of feral camels: This work considered aspects such as aerial culling, ground culling, and fencing. A review of possible chemical, biological, and fertility control options for managing the negative impacts of feral camels was also conducted by a research team based at the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre.
5. Development of a framework for the cross-jurisdictional management of the negative impacts of feral camels. In developing the framework, the following tasks were undertaken:
6. 1. The compilation of spatial data relevant to the management of feral camels and their impacts
   2. The development of a Multiple Criteria Decision Support Tool for Feral Camel Management based on a Geographic Information System (GIS).

The following additional work was undertaken for the project:

1. A review of legislation to identify possible barriers to the cross-jurisdictional management of feral camels and their impacts. A team based at Charles Darwin University and led by Stephen Garnett undertook this research.
2. Modelling of options for management of feral camels in central Australia: Stephen McLeod, from New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, and Anthony Pople, from Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, undertook this work.
3. An economic analysis of camel control in the central region of the NT: Adam Drucker, from Charles Darwin University, undertook this work.

The following discussion summarises the research outputs of all work undertaken for the project and provides key recommendations for the effective cross-jurisdictional management of feral camels and their impacts. Preceding chapters of the final report contain a much higher level of detail in relation to the work undertaken and may include additional recommendations pertaining to individual research components.