Kill a camel, claim a carbon credit

The day of reckoning could be near for wild camels in Australia's outback, with Canberra considering awarding carbon credits for getting rid of the feral animals under an initiative to cut emissions.

Although the Carbon Farming Initiative has yet to pass parliament, three proposals are undergoing formal assessment - including one to manage Australia's feral camel population.

The idea has come from the managing director of Adelaide-based Northwest Carbon, Tim Moore, says more than one-point-two million camels are roaming Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales.

He says they're already considered a pest, they are doubling their number once every nine years and are one of Australia's big methane emitters.