United Arab Emirates: Camel Market in the Desert City of Al Ain

Camel Market Al Ain

... "Pen 93: 10 female camels with 6 calves", "Pen 92: empty", "Pen 91: divided into two pens by a rope, on one side three female camels, on the other side 1 mother with 2 calves, mother with tied legs, rubbish on the ground", "Pen 90: 5 female camels with 2 calves, eating hay, water trough almost empty"...

This is an extract from our camel protocol. We are at the camel market in Al Ain, a desert city in the east of the United Arab Emirates. Our aim is to achieve improvements for the animals and to promote camel welfare in general. That is why we are on site to document the current situation.

At first glance, everything looks well organised. There are concrete pens with shade roofs, an entrance control and a market vet. Over 600 camels are offered for sale here. In a total of 56 pens. On closer inspection, it is noticeable that the camels do not have constant access to water. Some of them are emaciated. Many calves have heavy nasal discharge. This is a sign of stress caused by separation from their mother and the unrest at the market, as the market vet explains to us. Time and again we see camels with burn scars. They are evidence of so-called cauterisations, a traditional medicine that is often used on camels.

Most of the camels on the market are sold for slaughter. Pick-up trucks make regular trips to the market. Individual animals are selected. We are told that they are usually sold at the age of 8 months, as this is when their 'meat quality' is at its best. Like the young camel bull Czarek, who is pushed and dragged onto the back of a pick-up by a group of men. He fights back and roars. But his legs are tied together and ropes are stretched across his back. Then he is transported away. The driver says he is travelling to a nearby slaughterhouse.

We are deeply touched by these large animals that have to endure and suffer so much at the hands of humans. Yet how open and attentive they are to us. As we walk from pen to pen, curious glances follow our every move. Gentle noses nudge us and sniff at us through the bars of the pens. We see heart-warming scenes of camel mums lovingly caring for their offspring. And again and again, heads stretching out towards us, demanding and enjoying being stroked.
The camels are friendly and curious and radiate a dignified calm that is difficult to put into words.

The UN has declared 2024 the Year of the Camel. Let's make the most of this moment to tell the whole world about these wonderful animals. This includes their existence as 'meat and milk producers'. This includes long transport routes, brutal shipments and camel markets, like here in Al Ain. And it includes the fact that every camel is an individual who wants to live an intact life in peace. Like all so-called 'farm' animals.