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Camels
Camel Industry Background
History of Australian Camels
The first camels arrived in Australia from the Canary Islands in 1840. Between 1860 and 1907 around 10,000 to 12,000 dromedary camels (one-humped) were imported into Australia from Palestine and India. Camels were used for exploration ventures, the transport of goods and station work up until the 1920s when motor vehicles took over and most camels were released into the wild. The dromedary camel is ideally suited to desert conditions and feral camels now occupy much of the Australian interior. According to the Central Australian Camel Industry Association (CACIA) in total 37% of Australian mainland is inhabited by camels and numbers have the potential to double every seven years. The establishment of the camel industry will assist in converting a feral problem into an economic benefit for Australia.
Australian Camel Production
Feral camels were first harvested for meat in Alice Springs in the late 1980s. As an alternative to Government controlled culling programs the CACIA is developing markets for trade in live camels and camel meat. Currently marketing efforts are concentrated on live camel exports to Asia and the Middle East where camels are used for racing and for breeding stock. Australian camel meat is mainly used for domestic human consumption.
Camel meat production in 2003/04 was 14 tonnes/year, with a gross value of $36,000. The CACIA is continuing to work with the industry to promote the value of camel meat and other products such as camel oil, wool and leather. Camel leather, in particular, has made some promising inroads into the United States and Italian markets in recent years. It is a popular material for fashion accessories, belts, jackets, shoes and upholstery as it has high quality tensile strength and an attractive grain pattern.
In 2003/04 shipments of live camels were valued at more than double that of camel products. There were 115 live camels exported to Malaysia (57%), Brunei Darussalam (35%) and Saudi Arabia (7%) during this time receiving a gross value of $82,000. The number and destination of live camel exports ranges greatly from year to year as the industry is still in its infancy. However, in 2006/07 there was a significant increase in the number of camels exported with 363 camels shipped to Malaysia (94%) and the Philippines (6%).
These figures have been sourced from Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).
According to Northern Territory Government Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre feral camel numbers are still increasing and despite annual harvests there are approximately 800,000 to one million camels, with 50% in Western Australia, 25% in the Northern Territory and the remainder in Queensland and northern South Australia. In fact, Western Australia has the largest feral camel population in the world.
Code of Practice
The transport and shooting of feral camels is regulated by the Commonwealth and State governments who have endorsed a Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals: The Camel that is published by the CSIRO.
Global perspective
There are approximately 20 million camels in the world. The largest stocks exist as domestic herds in African nations and to a lesser extent Pakistan and India. Generally they are valued for their production of milk, meat, hides, dung for fuel, transport, security and capital.
Links to additional information
Northern Territory Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries and Mining (DPIFM)
Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation