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When A Country Declared War on a Bird — and Lost
The Great Emu War
Australia has fought in both World Wars, the Vietnam war and in many other conflicts since. It has never engaged in combat on its own soil. Except on one occasion. When it went to war against emus.
And lost.
Emus are a native Australian bird. The second-largest bird on Earth, behind only the ostrich, they are up to 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) in height and run at speeds of 50 km/h (31 mph). The emu features on Australia’s coat of arms and also on its fifty-cent coin. Clearly, there is some affinity with the emu.
This wasn’t always the case.
The first attack — the emus assault
The year was 1932, and farmers in the state of Western Australia were struggling through the Great Depression. Many of them were veterans of World War I and upon their return had been given parcels of land in the harsh conditions of Western Australia. Promised government subsidies they grew wheat in the harsh conditions.
In search of water, this newly irrigated land was attractive to emus; as was the wheat. The numbers had always been manageable but a longer drought then normal saw more than 20,000 emus migrate from the Australian outback towards these farms. The large birds would also use their strong legs to break through the fences around the farms, creating an entry point for rabbits. There they would wreak havoc by eating all the wheat and damaging property. The emus and to a lesser extent, the rabbits were destroying the farmers livelihoods. On top of this, the farmers were frustrated that the promised government subsidies hadn’t materialised.
To say the farmers were struggling is an understatement.
Unable to stop the marauding emus, a delegation of farmers went to Australia’s capital — Canberra, on the other side of the country to demand approval to slaughter the emus. They had guns, and they had combat experience. They were ready to go to war.
The Australian defence minister, Sir George Pearce, agreed on one condition; the war would be fought not by the farmers, but by the Australian military. Pearce believed this would be a way to keep the disenchanted farmers onside as well as provide…
