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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 12:36 PM
Original message
Australian government - "we are here to help you"

For being so anti-gun it's odd how they plan on handling this, corral then blaze away from helicopters and leave the dead where they lay.

Does the US gov handle things in this manner?

-----------------------------------------

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34167067/ns/world_news-world_environment/

"critical situation"

"overran a small Outback town"

"many people were too frightened to leave their homes"

"We need to get the risk and that threat away from the people"

-----------------------------------------

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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 12:40 PM
Response to Original message
1. What is your solution?
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Lars77 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 12:54 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. For international finance..
The solution is the privatization of water resources apparently.

The trouble over oil is nothing compared to what conflict over fresh water will be like.
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 03:13 PM
Response to Reply #1
18. my solution?
Put firearms back in the hands of law-abiding citizens...and leave it that way. I mean heck, criminals have weapons, not like aus.gov is going door-to-door doing something about armed criminals.

Witness the gangs in Australia, can't see from here where they care two hoots about gun laws, can you?
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Indy Lurker Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 06:11 AM
Response to Reply #1
71. KEBOBS



Ingredients

* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
* 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper seasoning
* 4 fluid ounces lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
* 2 pounds camel steak, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
* 2 green bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces
* skewers
* 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, stems removed
* 1 pint cherry tomatoes
* 1 fresh pineapple - peeled, cored and cubed

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix soy sauce, light brown sugar, distilled white vinegar, garlic powder, seasoned salt, garlic pepper seasoning, and lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage. Reserve about 1/2 cup of this marinade for basting. Place steak in a large resealable plastic bag. Cover with the remaining marinade, and seal. Refrigerate for 24 -36 hours.
2. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add green peppers, and cook for 1 minute, just to blanch. Drain, and set aside.
3. Preheat grill for high heat. Thread steak, green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and pineapple onto skewers in an alternating fashion. Discard marinade and the bag.
4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Cook kabobs on the prepared grill for 10 minutes, or to desired doneness. Baste frequently with reserved marinade during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

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baldguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 12:45 PM
Response to Original message
2. Nice spin. But this story has nothing to do with guns or individual gun ownership.
To quote from the article:

ALICE SPRINGS, Australia - Australian authorities plan to corral about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and gun them down after they overran a small Outback town in search of water, trampling fences, smashing tanks and contaminating supplies.

The Northern Territory government announced its plan Wednesday for Docker River, a town of 350 residents where thirsty camels have been arriving daily for weeks because of drought conditions in the region.

"The community of Docker River is under siege by 6,000 marauding, wild camels," local government minister Rob Knight said in Alice Springs, 310 miles northeast of Docker. "This is a very critical situation out there, it's very unusual and it needs urgent action."
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here

The camels, which are not native to Australia but were introduced in the 1840s, have smashed water tanks, approached houses to try to take water from air conditioning units, and knocked down fencing at the small airport runway, Knight said.

...


That's right: CAMELS. It's about camels.
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 03:09 PM
Response to Reply #2
17. Bull and you know it - disarmed public has to rely on .gov for solutions.
It's a shame the public has to wait weeks for a .gov solution to a local problem that they could cure themselves in 30 seconds if it weren't for ignorant politicos with the OMFG-GUNNZ!!!1!!1! syndrome.
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baldguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 04:42 PM
Response to Reply #17
31. Funny, the article doesn't mention any Autralians clamoring for guns to solve their camel problem.
You act like there's something wrong with people in a democracy pooling their resources to help one another out. They have no use for the freeperish RW Neanderthal idea of "GUBMENT BAD!!" and seem to understand that in a democracy, distrusting the government is equivalent to distrusting your neighbors and yourself.
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 04:51 PM
Response to Reply #31
32. Your undying trust in your government has been duly noted.

"distrusting the government is equivalent to distrusting your neighbors and yourself"


Hilarious. Sad, but still hilarious.


Have a nice day.

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proteus_lives Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 09:17 PM
Response to Reply #32
56. That is scary-sad.
Wow.
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SteveM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 01:09 PM
Response to Original message
4. So, Australians must wait for government shooters because...
The average Australian is barred from having guns to do the job themselves? This seems to rate as an unintended consequence of gun-control.
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 01:15 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. The Australians are too scared to go out of their homes because of the camels.
And why not get the government to do it - they have the equipment and resources, and hence it will be cheaper. The water hole being used does not belong to any one person - and should never be.

See what privatization can do:
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/145044/cerberus_capital%3A_literally_blood-sucking_the_poor_to_make_their_billions

Privatization of water in South Africa was a disaster.





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lepus Donating Member (312 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 01:35 PM
Response to Reply #5
6. And if the locals were still armed
It would be cheaper still to knock out the invasive species.
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 01:45 PM
Response to Reply #6
9. A small number of people
shoot and bury 6000 camels?

Surely you jest.
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lepus Donating Member (312 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 02:54 PM
Response to Reply #9
14. Why bury them
Haul the carcasses away from the town a mile or so.Truth be told, 6000 camels do not need to be shot to stop the problem.
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 03:36 PM
Response to Reply #14
21. They were after water.
Gunshots would not have deterred them.

Do you know how much a camel weighs?
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lepus Donating Member (312 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 04:30 PM
Response to Reply #21
29. Simple solution really
Shoot them and haul them off with a tractor. They have hay spikes down under, right?

I was not saying to deter them with gunshots, but to thin the herd so to speak.
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 05:10 PM
Response to Reply #29
33. The best solution is what the govt proposed to do.

No tractor needed.
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lepus Donating Member (312 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 06:42 PM
Response to Reply #33
47. Leaving rotting bodies
next to a water supply is generally considered to be a really bad idea. Hence, haul them off a ways. Pretty sure the locals could handle it.
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lepus Donating Member (312 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 07:08 AM
Response to Reply #33
72. your the one that mentioned burying,,,NT
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 06:51 PM
Response to Reply #33
83. So, you're saying
Screw the hungry and the water supply, too?

Let them rot and contaminate the local water supply, draw vermin and insects, possibly spread disease from the rotting corpses, rather than allow the meat to go to people that will use it either as food for humans or animals?

How very considerate of your fellow human beings!
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lepus Donating Member (312 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-11-10 09:11 PM
Response to Reply #83
90. Hey, if I was running the show,,,
The down under version of alpo or purina would have been notified to have some refrigerated trucks handy.
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-12-10 01:42 AM
Response to Reply #90
91. See post # 13. n/t
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TheWraith Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 02:57 PM
Response to Reply #9
15. Local hunting would have prevented the population from getting out of control in the first place.
Overpopulation is what happened with the white tail deer around here when all the local predators got wiped out. Hunting has started to bring them under a semblance of control, though we could do with a greater culling than the locals usually authorize.
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 03:38 PM
Response to Reply #15
22. They were NOT LOCAL before this happened.
They roamed the vast expanse of the outback prior to this event.

The water in their normal areas had dried up.

This was the only place they could find water.

They all converged SUDDENLY, without warning, on this small town of 350 people.

By the way, how many people go camel-shooting, for heaven's sake?
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 05:57 PM
Response to Reply #22
42. For the umpteenth time, read the article.


article: arriving daily for weeks

your version: They all converged SUDDENLY, without warning


One of you is wrong :rofl:
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AtheistCrusader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 08:39 PM
Response to Reply #22
50. We don't have camels here.
Moose correlate, roughly. Moose are good eating, despite being mean tempered bastards.

I'd try camel.
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proteus_lives Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 09:19 PM
Response to Reply #50
57. I've been told the hump meat is delicacy.
A real treat in different parts of the world.
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-11-10 05:07 PM
Response to Reply #57
86. Hunp and meat in the same sentence
DO NOT GO FOR THE SEX JOKE, TAURUS!!!
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AtheistCrusader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 08:38 PM
Response to Reply #9
49. Here's a hint
There would never have been so many in the first place.
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 01:39 PM
Response to Reply #5
7. What???
No government ever does anything cheaper than an individual can do it. Look at the record worldwide.

How do you figure the cost of helicopters, paid employees (whether military or civilian), and the waste of other resources would be less than roughly on shot per camel from civilians with their own firearms.

The backhoe for the burying would be cheaper. Government contracts always cost more, but I'd be willing to bet that there are several owners of said equipment that would donate their time to solve the problem.
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 01:52 PM
Response to Reply #7
10. Really?
Edited on Sat Jan-09-10 01:58 PM by tabatha
A small town must deal with 6000 camels and bury them all by themselves (350 people)?
Even if they had 100 backhoes, which they don't, that is still an impossible task.
And on whose property would the 6000 camels be buried?

And you generalize too much about government inefficiency.
I can understand in the US, but Australia is a small country, and I can guarantee that the cost of the civilian staff with helicopters doing the job in Australia would cost less.

If helicopters can be used to fight fires, then they can be used to deal with other large catastrophes.

You are blinded by dogma.
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SteveM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 02:11 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. Yet, even large predators (bears) can be discouraged cheaply...
by private, regulated action. No one is saying you have to kill 6,000 camels in one area or town; but shooting a few every now and then may cause the animals not to trash everything in sight until someone comes up with an expensive plan to exterminate a "herd."

As it stands, one must call in the government to effect radical and expensive surgery to cure a huge growth that was allowed to get out of hand. Not sound policy.
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 03:30 PM
Response to Reply #12
19. 6,000 animals arrived in ONE town unexpectedly.
Edited on Sat Jan-09-10 03:35 PM by tabatha
They had roamed the vast outback before that - there was no need to shoot them before.

And they would NOT HAVE BEEN DISCOURAGED by gunshot - you see they were after WATER! which was nowhere else to be found.
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SteveM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 03:57 PM
Response to Reply #19
25. Well, I'm not sure what you are advocating, but it would seem...
plausible that this crowd would descend on a water supply.

I'm not advocating a mass kill-off, though this may be what the Australian government wants.

Any species which cannot be supported by the ecology they live in will certainly migrate to where they can be supported.

Whether its for food or water, most animals will be discouraged (at least temporarily) by gun fire. It certainly is a cheap fix for a time. It is unfortunate that the problem of over-population has reached such a level that mass killing is now deemed necessary by their government.
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 04:18 PM
Response to Reply #25
27. The problem only became an issue recently.
And there are no regular hunters of camels to have kept the population down.
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SteveM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 10:26 AM
Response to Reply #27
74. I agree with you. And no guns to "hunt" them with. nt
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tburnsten Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 09:10 PM
Response to Reply #19
54. Arrived DAILY for WEEKS Tabatha, not unexpectedly or suddenly.
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-11-10 05:20 PM
Response to Reply #19
87. How big was that tour bus?
Edited on Mon Jan-11-10 05:21 PM by taurus145
Also, would porters refer to carrying camels' baggage as humping the load?
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 02:26 PM
Response to Reply #10
13. Nope
Australia is mostly government owned, especially around the communities in the Outback.

How do you figure that anything from a helicopter costs less than shoe leather and sweat? And we all know that there are absolutely no administrative, hiring, or contract costs when any government is involved.

Ever been to Australia? Small towns there are similar to small towns here. There are always a few with the proper equipment to do a job like this.

That aside, there is no way they would be burying 6,000 camels at once. If so, that would make the job quicker and easier. Long trench(es) with a dozer, then push 'em in. Piece of cake (relatively.

Depending on the location and shipping costs, a pet food or organic fertilizer company may recycle them at little or no cost whatsoever so long as the carcasses are gathered.

The job may cost less in Australia than in the U.S., I honestly don't know. It is proven that no government does anything a inexpensively as individuals or private industry (not on government contract) anywhere in the world.

I'd be interested to see your cost basis for the savings if the government were involved versus individuals and/or private industry.
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 03:02 PM
Response to Reply #10
16. "but Australia is a small country" - um, are we talking about the same Australia?
On that note, regarding aus.gov burying the carcasses did you even read the article?
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 03:34 PM
Response to Reply #16
20. Yes, I have visited Australia.
Alice Springs is a small town in the vast outback of Australia.
And, yes, Australia is a small country population-wise.

Yes, I read that the govt was going to let the carcasses rot.

I was talking about the suggestion YOU MADE IF YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU WROTE about burying the carcasses.

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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 04:32 PM
Response to Reply #20
30. Calm down, your slip is showing.
Yes, I have visited Australia.
Posted by tabatha
Alice Springs is a small town in the vast outback of Australia.
And, yes, Australia is a small country population-wise.

Yes, I read that the govt was going to let the carcasses rot.

I was talking about the suggestion YOU MADE IF YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU WROTE about burying the carcasses.


----------------------------------------------

That's more like it. Now about this bit of some burial suggestion I made(huh?)
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 05:15 PM
Response to Reply #30
34. What slip?
Edited on Sat Jan-09-10 05:39 PM by tabatha
It was all about population - unlike the US where there are thousands of hunters, there are very few in Australia to keep the camel population under control. Get it?

Burial is far more work than using a few helicopters to herd them out into the desert.

You are very arrogant.



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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 05:36 PM
Response to Reply #34
35. "It was all about population" - since when, since you said so?

It was all about population - unlike the US where there are thousands of hunters, there are very few in Australia to keep the camel population under control. Get it?

No, it's about a disarmed public that could take care of the problem themselves BEFORE the problem got out of control....IF they weren't disarmed by .gov in the first place.


By the way, still no idea where you fetched the idea that I suggested a "burial solution".
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 05:41 PM
Response to Reply #35
37. I had added this to the previous post - but see that you already replied:


I did a little research - there are a number of hunters in Australia

"Currently, about 5.2% of Australian adults (765,000 people)<1> own and use firearms for purposes such as hunting, controlling feral animals, collecting and target shooting."

So the question is, why were they not shooting camels to keep the population down?

I found this about US hunters:

"In the United States:
"The actual hunting population may range from 23 million to 43.7 million", according to The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Related Recreation, which used 2001 data, much of it from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service... "Much false, or misleading information on these numbers is often cited by critics of hunting. But it is the task of the USF&W Service to gather and keep track of the actual numbers, so it is their information our decisions must be governed by"."

Thus Australian hunter numbers are 2.5% of US hunters - indeed much smaller.

BUT - Australians are allowed to legally own guns for hunting animals.

If was the massacre of people that caused the gun restrictions; it you think that is OK, then fine.
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 05:49 PM
Response to Reply #37
40. Your point on # of hunters in OZ is moot.
I did a little research - there are a number of hunters in Australia

"Currently, about 5.2% of Australian adults (765,000 people)<1> own and use firearms for purposes such as hunting, controlling feral animals, collecting and target shooting."

So the question is, why were they not shooting camels to keep the population down?

-----------------------------------------------------------------


Those 765,000 hunters do not live in the Northern Territory, much less anywhere near Alice Springs.

;)

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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 06:03 PM
Response to Reply #40
43. So all of the suggestions that the camels could have been
eliminated without interference by the "government" do not make sense.

And a population of 350 (170 able-bodied men) with guns, would probably not have been able to deal with 6,000 camels either, even though they did not all arrive at once.
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 06:16 PM
Response to Reply #43
45. I may be arrogant, but I'm very good at math.
And a population of 350 (170 able-bodied men) with guns, would probably not have been able to deal with 6,000 camels either, even though they did not all arrive at once.


You've never seen "Kelly's Heroes" eh? :)


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PavePusher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-11-10 06:56 PM
Response to Reply #43
88. 10-15 camels each. What is the problem? n/t
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 05:44 PM
Response to Reply #35
38. In the haste of replying, I confused you with #7
"The backhoe for the burying would be cheaper. "
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tburnsten Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 09:14 PM
Response to Reply #34
55. Millions of hunters in the US Tabatha, not thousands. Tens of millions actually.
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 12:52 PM
Response to Reply #34
79. Get a grip.
Burial is far more work than using a few helicopters to herd them out into the desert.

You don't know much about modern earthmoving equipment.
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tburnsten Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 09:08 PM
Response to Reply #10
53. "where"? Well it isn't called the Outback because it's densely populated
You are blinded by dogma.




And who said anything about waiting until 6000 were swarming the town to try to fix the problem? "arriving DAILY for WEEKS" I believe is the direct quote from the article. Solution- When twenty or thirty camels decide to start wreaking havoc on your tiny, remote towns water supply, shoot a couple of them, repeat as needed. get as much good meat from them as the town can freeze, and everyone eats fresh camel until camels go somewhere else.
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burrfoot Donating Member (801 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 02:36 AM
Response to Reply #10
65. Australia is a small country? Surely you jest.
Or perhaps what you meant was a less populous country than some? Cause it's a frickin' huge country. They have ranches that are literally the size of Belgium.

If I recall correctly from my time there, it's about the size of the United States, actually. Admittedly with far less people populating it since something like 90% live within 15 miles of the coast.

(I'm just a little bit pulling those numbers out of my ass, but if you doubt the gist of them please feel free to Google. I am 100% certain the actual numbers will confirm.)

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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 01:11 PM
Response to Reply #10
80. Here's your problem
that is still an impossible task

While it may be difficult, it's far from impossible. Government assistance or interference is not always necessary to get a job done. You're selling people short. The Eris Canal was dug with picks, shovels and oxen powered sleds and dredges for the most part. I'd say one could bury more than 6,000 camels in it.

With your perception of things we'd be in a fix these days. Governments often assist. (Think NASA for an example.) Governments often impede. (Think gun control. O.K. that's a sop because of this sub forum.) When it comes down to the nut cutting, people do what needs to be done, with or without government involvement. Look to any field of endeavor throughout history to see the truth of it. Pick a revolution. Pick a project. Pick an expansion movement anywhere in the world. Pick anything.
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tburnsten Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 06:29 PM
Response to Reply #80
82. They do what needs to be done unless...
Their government does everything in its power to remove their ability to do so, i.e. extreme gun control vs living in remote areas and having a camel infestation.
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PavePusher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-12-10 09:46 AM
Response to Reply #82
92. Oooooo, I get the strangest mental images....
when you say "camel infestation"...

:rofl:
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SteveM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 02:07 PM
Response to Reply #5
11. Well, of course the government can do this at great expense...
It is just unfortunate that private citizens could not kill off at least some of the camels and perhaps discourage them from causing all the damage they have done.

I'm not sure what the status of the water hole has to do with this, unless you are saying the camels have "privatized" or taken it over.

At any rate, even in Texas feral hogs must occasionally be culled by use of helicopters with TPWD personnel shooting automatic rifles, evidently from the air.

I'd be afraid to venture outside with camels all over -- unless I had a gun. Which evidently no one has. More attention needs to be paid to opening up the land for hunting these animals (and pigs as well). Perhaps bounties would be in order, but one county here (Van Zandt) authorized $6 per pair of feral hog ears, and exhausted the budget within a week.
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 03:40 PM
Response to Reply #11
23. Know what you are talking about .....
They were NOT LOCAL before this happened.

They roamed the vast expanse of the outback prior to this event.

The water in their normal areas had dried up.

This was the only place they could find water.

They all converged SUDDENLY, without warning, on this small town of 350 people.

By the way, how many people go camel-shooting, for heaven's sake?
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SteveM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 04:04 PM
Response to Reply #23
26. BTW, few people go camel-shooting. Until it becomes a problem...
I'm not sure what you are getting at. That they "converged SUDDENLY, without warning, on this small town..." seems a minor point. They are in that town, NOW.

In some areas animals are shot/shot at to discourage their return. It is not a question of a "sport" or "hunting." It is a question of animal control. Evidently, no one had the means (guns) to discourage the camels from coming in. Now, the government is faced with radical and expensive surgery, something that may have to be done in any case. But why all the damage in the meantime when a temporary fix may have prevented it.

In the arctic region, problem bears which venture into settlements are sometimes darted, sometimes shot at (not even hit) to discourage these large, aggressive carnivores. It usually works, though problem (repeat) bears are sometimes killed.
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 04:19 PM
Response to Reply #26
28. Having guns would not have discouraged them.
Edited on Sat Jan-09-10 04:21 PM by tabatha
They came for water, and would have kept coming for water even if some of their companions were shot.

Added:

Why would any of the 350 people suddenly take up camel shooting ---- when they weigh something like 2,000 lbs?

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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 05:55 PM
Response to Reply #28
41. "Why would any of the 350 people suddenly take up camel shooting"
Maybe because the camel is tearing the air conditioner off the side of their house and taking the wall with it?
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 06:05 PM
Response to Reply #41
44. But before somone shoots a 2,000 lb animal
they have to have a way of disposing of the body.

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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 06:19 PM
Response to Reply #44
46. uh, yeah, I'm sure that's the
first thought that should cross their mind. :sarcasm:


(this is where you tell me you're joking)
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lepus Donating Member (312 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 07:19 PM
Response to Reply #44
48. A truck? NT
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Katya Mullethov Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 08:41 PM
Response to Reply #48
51. Trailer ball and a chain
Done this plenty of times with horses and cows .
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tburnsten Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 09:28 PM
Response to Reply #44
60. Bullshit
Before someone gets killed by a wild animal, they are going to wish they had some way to fight it off. Like, the only effective way to fight it off or defeat it. When your life and your family's very existence is threatened then cleanup is an extremely distant secondary or tertiary consideration. In the desert keeping your home intact is keeping yourself alive.


And where is this 2,000lb number coming from?
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 05:01 AM
Response to Reply #44
67. Check your facts
You just described a whole new breed of camel.

Male dromedary camels weigh in at around 1,500 lbs. Females are smaller. Bactrian camels weigh one quarter to one third less. That's according to one of my now-retired science teacher wife's references on camels.

It's still a large animal to dispose of. The meat is quite tasty if prepared properly. I tried it in Egypt in the '70's. There's one disposal option for part of the cull.
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tburnsten Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 09:25 PM
Response to Reply #28
59. How do you know what they would do?
If it works for polar bears, some of the most aggressive and voracious predators on the planet, in a food-poor region, what makes you think that it would never work for camels?


Also, you don't need to shoot an animal once per pound, or even once per hundred pounds. I don't know what you think a camel is, but they do not weigh 2,000 pounds.


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tburnsten Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 09:33 PM
Response to Reply #59
61. The only weight I can find for them lists 500kg, or 1100 pounds
a far cry from 2000 pounds you are throwing around, and a size that North American and African hunters cleanly kill on a regular basis.
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 10:10 PM
Response to Reply #61
63. That town could export TONS of jerky.
A little bit of teriyaki or jalapenos, some snazzy packaging and they'd have a nice windfall from a dire situation.
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Katya Mullethov Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 11:37 AM
Response to Reply #63
75. They tried
Two big hurdles are convincing people who arent hungry to even try it , and the resultant transportation costs .

Free range camel meat
http://www.territorycamel.com.au/
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 11:49 AM
Response to Reply #75
76. Worth a fortune at Texas gunshows,
jerky runs $5 for a 4oz bag of your choosing (5 bags for $20). A little brown sugar could easily cure whatever twangy aftertaste was present.

Let's see, just guessing here but 6,000 camels at maybe 300lbs of meat =
+- 200lbs dried =
3200oz =
800 packs @ 4oz each =
800 x $5 =
$4,000 worth of product per camel.



5,000 camels x $4,000 = $2,000,000



Hmm, shame to see them killed much less go to waste, wonder if there's an express line to get into that TV show SHARK TANK?

:)
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SteveM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 12:51 PM
Response to Reply #28
78. Are camels less "willing" to retreat from gun fire than marauding bears?
Please, if you would, provide some info on why camels may be an exception to the rule. I have visions of old "Rawhide" T.V. shows where drovers are run-down by a stampede of cattle.
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 05:38 PM
Response to Reply #23
36. Now you're re-writing the article.
Sort've how you rewrite/change your posts/ground game.
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 05:47 PM
Response to Reply #36
39. How is the story being rewritten?
How have I rewritten my posts?
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AtheistCrusader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 08:41 PM
Response to Reply #23
52. I've got enough 30.06 for at least 5,000 of them.
Bet my neighbor could take the rest.

My shoulder would be pretty darn sore though. Better split it 50/50
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 05:29 AM
Response to Reply #52
70. See post 69
I'm getting into this!

If only I had a whole camel...
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tburnsten Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 09:21 PM
Response to Reply #23
58. daily for weeks tabatha
not suddenly by any means.


And why are you so sexist anyway?
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 01:41 PM
Response to Original message
8. Where are the Nevada mustang supporters?
Same same. Non-native species overpopulating and causing problems.
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burrfoot Donating Member (801 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 02:47 AM
Response to Reply #8
66. A good point!
I suspect it has to do with the fact that the mustangs have received a much better PR treatment than the camels ;)

They're pretty, they speak to our current fantasies about the "American Spirit" that settled the west in the days when we all pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps (after walking to school uphill both ways in the snow). And I don't think they cause as much damage as camels, though I don't know for sure.

If only somebody loved the camels...
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 03:53 PM
Response to Original message
24. Camel Hunting
So, I did a bit of research to see if camel hunting was done by anyone in Australia.

It looks as though, recently, it was started, not because it was an "exciting" pastime that lots of people wanted to do, but as a way to provide activity for young Aborigines.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1578226/Camel-hunting-the-new-Aboriginal-pastime.html

However, the number of camels shot so far is extremely small, and not enough to dent the 1,000,0000 camels.

It seems as though they, starting in about Dec 2008, they are thinking of "harvesting" camels and selling the meat.

Reminds me of when I visited the Kruger Park and bought a couple can of elephant and buffalo meat - it was from culling and processing, and done by the government to help pay for Park maintenance.



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tburnsten Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 09:35 PM
Response to Reply #24
62. Oh boy government-made canned buffalo and elephant meat!
Yech. Give me fresh meat shot by a citizen any day.
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depakid Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 01:06 AM
Response to Original message
64. You're WAY behind the times, mate
The outback areas have been flooding for weeks.
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rd_kent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 12:21 PM
Response to Reply #64
77. This town is in the Northern Territory, the flooding is in NSW, so still a valid story, mate.
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depakid Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 06:23 PM
Response to Reply #77
81. Almost the entire continent from SA on up has recieved heavy rain-
including floods.

The article is from November.
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 05:05 AM
Response to Original message
68. Eat them!
http://www.google.com/search?q=camel+recipes&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

How many poor, or not so poor folks for that matter, could benefit from the extra meat in their diet? I'd eat it in a heartbeat.
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 05:25 AM
Response to Original message
69. I've found a new party dish!
Let's have a cookout!

Whole Stuffed Camel Recipe


½ day | 2 hours prep

SERVES 100

* 1 whole camel, medium size
* 1 whole lamb, large size
* 20 whole chicken, medium size
* 60 eggs
* 12 kg rice
* 2 kg pine nuts
* 2 kg almonds
* 1 kg pistachio nut
* 110 gallons water
* 5 lbs black pepper
* salt

1. Skin, trim and clean camel (once you get over the hump), lamb and chicken.
2. Boil until tender.
3. Cook rice until fluffy.
4. Fry nuts until brown and mix with rice.
5. Hard boil eggs and peel.
6. Stuff cooked chickens with hard boiled eggs and rice.
7. Stuff the cooked lamb with stuffed chickens.
8. Add more rice.
9. Stuff the camel with the stuffed lamb and add rest of rice.
10. Broil over large charcoal pit until brown.
11. Spread any remaining rice on large tray and place camel on top of rice.
12. Decorate with boiled eggs and nuts.
13. Serves a friendly crowd of 80-100.

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pipoman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 07:37 AM
Response to Reply #69
73. You could
put the lamb inside the camel and the chickens inside the lamb and make camlamen...sort of a variation on turducen
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tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-11-10 10:57 AM
Response to Original message
84. The questions remains:
why did none of the thousands of hunters in Australia step up to the plate and shoot the camels?

The answer to my question I posed earlier - "because they lived somewhere else".

So here is my final comment on this matter, avoiding all the other conjectures and questions that go nowhere:


There are four provinces and a large area of land affected by the camel population:

"... Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, where the camel population occupies a massive 3.3 million sq. kilometers (162000 sq. miles) of land."

Surely, there would be hunters living near the camels since they are distributed over such a wide area.

Why has the free market not produced a number of hunters going into business to shoot the camels, and selling the meat possibly to the ME where it is eaten?
Why does the government have to step up to the plate (we are here to help you) because no-one else had and the camel population has gotten out of hand?

And Austrlians do hunt:
http://www.aushunt.com.au/main/mainarticle2.php?articleid=d4111b5669

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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-11-10 05:02 PM
Response to Reply #84
85. Are you serious?
why did none of the thousands of hunters in Australia step up to the plate and shoot the camels?

At least in part because the frigging government in Oz has made it almost impossible to any kind of firearm.

Do you ever read or do you spout like a fountain based upon what's in your pump?
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-11-10 07:32 PM
Response to Reply #84
89. Answer is still the same (doh)
The questions remains:
why did none of the thousands of hunters in Australia step up to the plate and shoot the camels?

The answer to my question I posed earlier - "because they lived somewhere else".




The reality is 6,000 camels in one town in the Northern Territory. The problem with zillions of hunters is they are spread (I can NOT believe we have to hold kindergarten math...) across OZ, the vast majority are nowhere near the town.

CLUE -------> If there were a battalion of hunters in the area, the problem would never have become a problem, the camels would've been shot long ago and the news story would've never existed.


You up to speed now?
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