Thousands of camels face cull in Australia

THOUSANDS of camels in Australia’s remote outback could be killed by marksmen in helicopters under a government plan to cut down the population of the havoc-wreaking creatures.

First introduced into Australia in the 1840s to help explorers travel through the Australian desert, there are now about one million camels roaming the country.

They compete with sheep and cattle for food, trample vegetation and invade remote settlements in search of water, scaring residents as they tear apart bathrooms and rip up water pipes.