Camels Shot in Broome

Two weeks ago a story hit the news, which I will briefly outline, of 3 camels that were shot near Broome in the Western Australian North.  These camels were not feral beasts, but pets owned by the Watson family, members of the Nyikina Mangala people and whom have run a camel trekking business for 20 years.

These camels were shot on private land with bows and arrows, put down with rifles and then left where they died.   These animals were not feral, rioting through station country destroying watering troughs – these placid camels were privately owned and were on private property.  The people who shot them could not be on the opinion they were doing the land owner a favour.

The people who shot these camels did not do it for sport – what sport is there in shooting pets kept in pens?  A humane kill was also not a consideration when they shot an arrow into an animal that weighs half a ton.  None of the animals were butchered, so the shooters didn’t kill them for the meat.  What motive did these criminals have to kill these animals?

The men who shot these camels had rifles and bows and were spotting by witnesses wearing camouflage clothing – they went out intending to hunt something.  When they decided to kill these camels it is unlikely they had anything on their mind except for pure blood lust.  This is a despicable act by criminals.

Even though these criminals have nothing to do with the sport we all enjoy they shed a bad light on shooters and hunters because they used a gun.  We can only hope that these people are caught, their licenses cancelled and they realise their mistakes after spending some time in jail.

They were seen driving a four-wheel drive with Broome number plates – if anyone has any information that could help apprehend these criminals the shooting community would appreciate it if that information were passed to the Police.