Thousands of camels have been shot as part of a cull in a remote part of South Australia.

As reported by 9News , Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY Lands), in the north west of the state, announced its plan to kill up to 10,000 animals earlier this month.

APY lands confirmed in a statement last night the cull had gone ahead and a total of 5000 camels were killed.

"The region's first major cull of feral animals was in urgent response to threats posed to communities by an increase in the number of feral camels due to drought and extreme heat," APY said.

APY lands confirmed in a statement last night the cull had gone ahead and a total of 5000 camels were killed. (Facebook)

"More than 5000 camels were removed in an aerial control operation with backup by APY ground operations."

APY General Manager, Richard King, said the cull was done in "the most humane way.

It was needed, he said, because the camels were damaging community water sources, getting stuck and dying in water holes and increasing grazing pressure during the drought.

He said they "appreciated the concerns of animal rights activists", but added there was "significant misinformation about the realities of life for non native feral animals, in what is one of the most arid and remote places on earth."

"As custodians of the land, we need to deal with an introduced pest, in a way that protects valuable water supplies for communities, and puts the lives of everyone, including young children, the elderly and native flora and fauna first," he said.

South Australia's Department for Environment and Water said previously local traditional land owners mustered and sold camels, but they now have too many to cope with.

There are estimated to be more than a million wild camels roaming Australia's desert, according to Australian Government backed Feral Scan website.