Britons boycott Australia over camel cull

UK residents outraged by plans to cull some 6000 camels are warning other Europeans against visiting Australia.

Online discussion forums, which describe Australia as a third world country, have been running hot since it was revealed last week that residents in a small central Australian community were being held hostage by a herd of thirsty, marauding camels.

The Northern Territory government announced last week it would conduct an emergency cull of some 6000 feral camels at a cost of $A49,000 ($NZ62,312).

NT Local Government Minister Rob Knight has since received hate mail from around the world.

Docker River, 500km south west of Alice Springs, has been inundated by thousands of wild camels in recent weeks.

As well as smashing water infrastructure in their hunt for moisture, the quality of drinking water in the town is being threatened by the decaying bodies of camels that have been trampled by their herd.

The UK Times Online last week posted a story about the camel siege, which prompted an influx of public comment.

One blogger suggested spending the $A49,000 to build a water hole for the camels, rather than herding them out of town by helicopter to slaughter them.

"The animals that live here alongside us deserve respect and if we can help them live, what is so wrong with that?" K Jordon wrote.

Many comments state that Australia is not worthy of G20 status, while others claim Australians have a chip on their shoulder.

"Please tell all your friends that Australia is the worst nation on earth and they should stay away," William Burt wrote.

"Yet further evidence, if any were needed, that Australia is a third world country with a standard of living markedly below even the worst in Europe," John Spurway said.

One person from Germany wrote to Mr Knight last week, saying he was "outraged and shocked" by the government's plan.

"So 6000 innocent, gentle creatures have to die for only 350 humans?" he wrote.

"To me, these creatures have the same right to live under God's sun and drink his water as any other, including the human species."

The comments mirrored similar attacks made on US television earlier this year, calling Prime Minister Kevin Rudd a "serial killer" for culling camels in remote Australia.

The talk show host called the cull "genocide" and used a stuffed camel toy to demonstrate how the animals would be killed.

Despite the backlash, not all correspondence to Mr Knight has been critical of the decision to cull.

One man from Tanzania said he was an "avid large game hunter".

"I would be more than happy to volunteer my time and knowledge for the culling effort to assist your area," he wrote.

A national draft Feral Camel Action Plan to take action to reduce the number of camels across central Australia has been released, giving members of the public a chance to have their say.

Submissions to the federal government close on January 30, 2010.

There are about one million feral camels throughout Australia, with numbers doubling every eight or nine years.

- AAP