In spite of Australia’s negligible global contribution to so-called greenhouse gases and their alleged role in global warming or ‘climate change’ Prime Minister Julia Gillard, is hell-bent on imposing a carbon-dioxide tax, at vast cost to the country in higher electricity costs and export prices. Meanwhile, an environmental "consulting" group advising her Labor government has come up with a new warming villain: not carbon dioxide, but the camel.
More than a million wild camels roam the Outback, descendants of dromedaries imported more than a century ago as beasts of burden. They live off otherwise inedible vegetation and occasionally expel a puff of methane (a minor 'greenhouse' gas). The “consultants” solution to this is simple: Kill all million of them. Herd them together, slaughter them, and finally pick off any strays by shooting them from helicopters.
Before I continue I must declare an interest: I once went on an afternoon’s trek through the outback on domesticated camels, with my wife Hilary and two young daughters. Awesome! It seemed like riding on Mars: completely silent, virgin red-orange sand underfoot, nothing man made in sight, not even an aircraft con-trail to blemish the amethyst sky; just the four of us, our guide, and the occasional sound of a camel biting off a mouthful of scrub as we padded through the desert enjoying the easy rolling motion of the beasts.
The reason for the boat-like ride, we learned, is that camels move their left legs together, then their right legs, like a pacing horse, or a giraffe. Camels groan a lot which can make them seem surly, “It’s just their way of being sociable”, our guide smiled. They are easily steered with a rope attached to a plug in the outer wall one nostril. When well trained, on the command “Hoosh!”, they kneel at both ends, you climb on board, wrap one leg around the saddle horn, take the nose rope in one hand, then they stand up. Find me a horse that will do that.
As you will have noticed by now, I like camels. So you bloodthirsty consultants and your tree-hugging fellow travelers l will say only this: Leave those camels alone. By slaughtering them, you will set a ghastly precedent. Eco-psychopaths who are even more extreme than you, will arise: see all of you, as useless generators of greenhouse gas, herd you together and slaughter you. You have been warmed.
