Media Release July 2 2009: Camel plagues - relief in sight

The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre and its partners were today delighted with the
news that the Australian Government had chosen to support its application to the Caring for Our
Country program for the management of feral camels.

The proposal outlines how camel numbers can be reduced to preserve biodiversity and cultural values in
remote Australia and reduce damage to pastoral and settlement infrastructure.

“Our application for a ‘large’ grant in this round is the only one to have been selected to proceed,” says
The DKCRC Managing Director, Jan Ferguson. We will now work the Federal, State and Territory
Governments, and all of our industry and other partners to develop and implement the 4-year, $19
million dollar project, she said. The collaboration of many partners in this project is testament to the
succuss of collaboration possible through a CRC.

“The strength of this proposal lies in the foundation that was set by an extensive set of research reports
into camel numbers, their distribution in desert Australia, and many aspects of their impact and control,”
says one of the report authors, Professor Murray McGregor. The camel research was funded by the
Natural Heritage Trust and released late last year. This invitation to proceed in the Caring for Our
Country program really demonstrates the value of the approach we have taken throughout the research
and then in developing the management proposal – cross-border collaboration is essential to success.

This proposal brings together for the first time all the state and territory governments in SA, WA, Qld
and NT, Aboriginal organisations, NRM Boards, conservation groups, the pastoral industry, commercial
interests and research organisations.