Emu War
| Emu War | |
|---|---|
A man holding an emu killed by Australian soldiers | |
| Location | |
| Planned by | Sir George Pearce |
| Objective | Reduce the local emu population to reduce crop loss in Western Australia by the emus |
| Date | 2 November – 10 December 1932 (1 month, 1 week and 1 day) |
| Executed by | Australian Army, led by Major Gwynydd Purves Wynne-Aubrey Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery |
| Outcome | 986 emus confirmed killed. Minimal impact on the overall emu population. |
The Emu War (or Great Emu War) was a nuisance wildlife management military operation undertaken in Australia over the later part of 1932 to address public concern over the number of emus, large flightless birds indigenous to Australia, said to have been destroying crops in the Campion district within the Wheatbelt of Western Australia. The unsuccessful attempts to curb the emu population employed Royal Australian Artillery soldiers armed with Lewis guns—leading the media to adopt the name "Emu War" when referring to the incident. Although many birds were killed, the emu population persisted and continued to cause crop destruction.