The Emu War

The Emu War:

Throughout history the world has witnessed a large collection of military powers with the single goal of conquering land. What happens when the culprit is the emu, which is the second largest bird in the world behind the ostrich? In the 1930s, Australia faced a series of droughts that caused a large collection of emus to travel into populated areas in search of water. Instead of finding a way to create a watering hole and help the birds, the people of Western Australia decided to call in the military. In 1932, over 20,000 emus flocked to the Campion district of Western Australia.

The birds created problems for the local farming community by eating crops, as well as leaving large gaps in fences through which rabbits could enter and cause further problems. In response to the problem, the Minister of Defence, Sir George Pearce, organized a collection of soldiers who were given machine guns and ordered to kill the birds. Yes, they decided to use machine guns. Military involvement began in October of 1932. The “war” was conducted under the command of Major G.P.W. Meredith of the Seventh Heavy Battery of the Royal Australian Artillery, with Meredith commanding a pair of soldiers armed with two Lewis Automatic Machine Guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition.

As one might expect, it proved difficult to kill a large amount of emus with machine guns. They are big birds that can take a lot of physical abuse. Six days after the first engagement, 2,500 rounds of ammunition had been fired. The number of birds killed is uncertain. One account claims only 50 animals. Major Meredith’s official report noted that his men had suffered no casualties. Ornithologist Dominic Serventy commented “The Emu command had evidently ordered guerrilla tactics. Its army split up into small units that made the military equipment uneconomic.”

Following the negative coverage of the events in the Australian media, Pearce withdrew the military personnel and guns. Major Meredith commented on the maneuverability of the birds. “If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying capacity of these birds it would face any army in the world…They can face machine guns with the invulnerability of tanks.”

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mcmasterdonia:

Interestingly we also use the army and air-force to kill wild camels, for similar reasons. And in the past couple of years, the Western Australian government has been baiting and shooting sharks.

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Democratic Donkeys:

mcmasterdonia:

Interestingly we also use the army and air-force to kill wild camels, for similar reasons. And in the past couple of years, the Western Australian government has been baiting and shooting sharks.

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Okay, so what kind of sharks do you have in Australia that come out of the water to eat crops? (I'm guessing aquaculture but wanted the laugh)

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