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Scientific American – The Emu Wars
The Emu Wars - Oversimplified
This week’s pub convos I am writing from the Scottish countryside where I am currently on holiday. Being on holiday in the countryside brings wildlife to mind and of course naturally this led to my idea for this week’s issue. The time when the Australian government waged ‘war’ on a flock of birds – The Emu War
Background
At the end of World War I, returning veterans from the frontlines were given remuneration in the form of farmland to help them settle back in Australia. The Great Depression then happened and created a giant economic downturn in the Australian economy. This meant that the crops grown were extremely important to keep everyone fed and stimulate the domestic economy. Emus are the national bird of Australia; they often breed inland and return to the coast after breeding season. However, the new farmlands full of wheat in Western Australia created a conducive habitat for the emus. The emus ate the crops and caused damage to fencing, making the farmers extremely unhappy.
The ‘War’
The farmers then decided to ask the government for help and turned to Minister of Defence, George Pearce. Pearce mobilised a small team of soldiers and authorised the use of 2 Lewis Machine Guns to be sent to the outback. The first attempt at culling the emus were foiled as they would just scatter and run amidst the gunfire. This first attempt only resulted in a few emus being killed while the rest managed to escape. They tried again a couple of days later only to find their guns jammed after killing a dozen emus. This enraged animal activists and most importantly the government which saw it as a waste of resources. Therefore, the operation was called off. Surprise, surprise. Once the military retreated, the emus returned and continued wreaking havoc on the crops. The farmers once again asked for help and were granted it. This time however the emus didn’t have as much luck, the machine guns were proving their effectiveness and were able to kill 100 emus a week at one point.
Aftermath
At the end of the campaign, it was claimed that 2500 emus were killed out of the estimated 20000 that were causing problems in the farms. The problems persisted and a bounty for emus were set up to encourage hunters to hunt them. This relieved the problems but was not the final solution. After all the efforts and money spent on trying to fight the evil bird that is an emu. The farmers found a longer-lasting solution that didn’t involve shooting at them. They built better fences to keep the emus out, who would have known eh?
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