ISTANBUL

Around 600 feral camels have been culled in central Australia this week to contain the "havoc" wreaked by the thirsty animals in remote communities following an ongoing dry spell, local media reports said on Sunday.

The dry spell, compounded by blistering weather, has led to large camel herds coming into Indigenous communities as they damage mains and fences in their path, while searching for water, local broadcaster SBS News reported.

Some 800 to 1,000 camels travelling in one direction – known as a "camel train" have been reported by residents, spanning 5 kilometers (3 miles) in length near Mt. Liebig and Papunya.

A joint taskforce, set up by the Northern Territory government and including MacDonnell Regional Council and the Central Land Council (CLC), has approved a three-day aerial cull this week to assist.

According to the CLC, around 150 camels are being killed each day.

First introduced to Australia in 1840, around 1 million camels were roaming the arid lands of Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia, and Queensland by 2008.

A State of the Environment report by the federal government showed that the Australian Feral Camel Management Project between 2008 and 2013 removed more than 160,000 camels.