Australian Camels
Australian Camels
Live exports of Australian Camels are conducted by Australian livestock exporters licensed by the Australian Government and the industry is highly regulated and has high levels of compliance. Animal Welfare is a primary component of the compliance and a focus of the way in which we conduct our business.
There are estimated to be over 800,000 camels in the desert areas of Central Australia, they were imported from 1840 to 1907 . They were used as draft and riding animals by people pioneering the dry interior. Camel studs were set up in 1866,and operated for over 50 years in selective breeding programs. These working camels bred in Australia were of superior quality to the imported stock. Imports continued until 1907 from Palestine and India as there was a need for large numbers of cheap animals.
The camels brought into Australia were almost exclusively the one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) which are found in hot desert areas and are highly suited to the climate in Australia. Only about 20 of the two-humped camels (Camelus bactrianus) normally found in cold deserts were imported into Australia.
Nowadays some camels in limited numbers are exported to the Middle East for breeding and racing purposes. In Australia they are harvested for meat as they are considered a feral animal and therefore a pest.
Australian camels are virtually diseases free as they exist mostly in the harsh central deserts of Australia, one of the most disease free regions in one of the most disease free countries in the world.