ALICE SPRINGS, Australia, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- An Australian town has been besieged by camels that have become dangerously aggressive due to a prolonged drought, an official said.
Rob Knight, the local government minister, said residents of Docker River in Australia's Northern Territory have endured camels breaking water mains, trampling fences and forcing their way into homes in search of water, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.
"The community of Docker River is under siege by 6,000 marauding, wild camels," Knight said.
"This is a very critical situation out there. It's very unusual and it needs urgent action. We don't have the luxury of time because the herd is getting bigger."
Authorities plan to use helicopters to corral marauding camels and shoot them to protect the nearly 350 residents of Docker River, the Telegraph said.
But the plan drew opposition from Glenys Oogjes, executive director of Animals Australia.
"It's a terrible thing that people react to these events by shooting," she said. "The real concern is the terrible distress and wounding when shot by helicopter. There will be terrible suffering."
