Reducing feral camel impacts across remote Australia:

Australian Feral Camel Management Project

21st November 2013, Parliament House Theatre, Canberra

Session Three: Achievements and Outcomes Speakers: Mark Lethbridge, Ecoknowledge Jayne Brim Box, Northern Territory Government Sam Rando, Central Land Council Karl Hampton, Ninti One Lyndee Severin, Curtin Springs Station Jan Ferguson, Ninti One

Building Capacity: Aboriginal People & Camel Management Sam Rando

• Statutory Authority under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976

• 417,318 km² is Aboriginal

Freehold Land

• For over 35 years the CLC has been assisting Traditional Owners to acquire & manage their land

Central Land Council

Camel Densities within the CLC Region

Before the Australian Feral Camel Management Project

• In 2009, CLC employed a Feral Animal Education Officer (camels) to work with Aboriginal people in Central Australia

• There was very little awareness of the environmental damage caused by camels

• Collisions causing car accidents including fatalities • Scared to go bush for fear of camels • Concerned about camels coming into community

Cultural Issues

• Feral animals were not viewed differently to native animals

• Culling / “shoot to waste” was not culturally acceptable

• Religious connections to camels (Bible story)

• Western scientific approach to land management

Building Capacity

Assisting Traditional Owners

to make informed decisions

about Camel Management on Aboriginal Land

Building skills amongst indigenous

ranger groups to perform camel management

on Aboriginal Land

Traditional Owner Consultation & Education • Country visits for Traditional Owners to see ‘first

hand’ the camel-related damage for themselves • Innumerable informal meetings with families and

individuals • Use of education tools • More than 30 community meetings held

Changes in Attitudes • Feral camels – from benign

animal to pest animal

• Traditional Owners granted consent for camel management across the vast majority of Aboriginal Freehold Land.

• Most of those consents included a full range of camel management activities

Camel Management Activities Aerial Culling Ground-Based Culling Commercial Harvest Watering Points Mustering / Trapping Water Monitoring

Aerial Culling • Cull maps produced for individual Aboriginal Land

Trusts • These incorporated “No shoot” areas to comply with

the wishes of Traditional owners and protect environmentally and culturally significant areas

Since start of the AFCMP

• 23 culls completed on Aboriginal Land

• 63,782 camels culled

on Aboriginal Land

Ground Based Shooting

Firearms Training • To enable rangers to participate in ground based

culling • 17 rangers trained • Skills applied in camel control, hunting, horse /

cattle musters – wounded stock

Ground-Based Culling • Local control activity - Low numbers • Participation by aboriginal people

Butchery

Commercial Harvest

• 15 companies approached CLC with commercial harvest proposals

• Only 4 commercial operators reached the contract stage – none proceeded to harvest

Watering Points • Installation of ‘low flow’ solar pumps,

tanks and troughs on existing bores • Installed at targeted sites to relieve

pressure from camels on - Communities - Outstations - Natural waters • Water points have increased CLC

mustering / trapping capability

Mustering / Trapping

• Future local enterprises for aboriginal people

• To learn about costs, efforts & risks

• To reduce camel numbers in “no cull” areas

‘CLC Camel Muster’ (April 2012)

To see this film of mustering, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSv-F0oCngs, from 11:40 to 14:07

• 5 musters completed by rangers • 697 camels sold (Peterborough &

Caboolture) • Rangers gained camel handling skills

and mustering experience • Engaged indigenous mentor

Water Monitoring

• Water monitoring booklet developed

• Rangers were trained in water monitoring techniques

• Rangers have had an ongoing role with water monitoring

Docker River Camel Incursion January 2013

• 1500 camels congregating in the community of Docker River during the heat of summer 2013.

• Damage to fire hydrants,

taps, pipes due to camels seeking water

• Dead camels in the

community

CLC Response • Rangers and camel project

staff water trapped camels • Healthy animals trucked

away / unhealthy animals put down

• Eased pressure from camels on the community

The AFCMP has assisted in… • Changing Traditional Owners’ perceptions and

attitudes towards camel management • Gaining Traditional Owner consent for camel

management activities • Building the capacity of indigenous ranger groups to

continue camel management • Removing 63,782 camels from Aboriginal Land • Protecting cultural and environmental assets by

reducing the feral camel population • Improving safety on roads and in communities

• In NT, camel management now just a standard part of looking after country

• Widespread Traditional Owner support • Without ongoing funding camel numbers will

quickly increase

• Journey has begun – still a long way to go

Looking forward…

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