The International Franz Weber Foundation and the Lanzarote NGO Ademal have presented a 17-page veterinary report denouncing the “unacceptable conditions” suffered by dromedaries used to walk tourists in Lanzarote, both in the Timanfaya area and in other areas where these excursions are offered.
The document, which details a long list of problems suffered by these animals, has been presented at a press conference in front of the headquarters of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, where they have also registered a battery of questions this Tuesday, since they point out that it is the institution "competent in the matter" and consider that it should adopt measures.
In addition, both groups have also released a video showing how these dromedaries - which are usually called camels on the island - “work in conditions that seriously compromise their well-being.”
On the one hand, they point out that they spend the day with “a very annoying muzzle, which prevents them from normally performing behaviors such as rumination, prevents them from breathing normally and compresses their face and lips.” To demonstrate this, they include an image in which you can see the difference in movement between a dromedary that wears a muzzle and one that does not.
In the video, specimens also appear making constant movements with their tongues, which suggest that “they could be a stereotype due to other deficiencies.” In addition, they add that other behaviors are observed, such as licking or ingesting “anomalous substances”, specifically dirt, which they also attribute to the conditions in which they are.
Hours in the sun and on the "abrasive volcanic sand"
On the other hand, they denounce that “they are forced to remain seated on the abrasive volcanic sand, which causes calluses on multiple parts of the body”, which “can open or become infected” and which “are indicative of the enormous effort made by the joints of these animals.”
Similarly, they question that “they are forced to get up and sit down with a weight on top that can exceed 200 kilos”, which “damages their joints and the skin that covers them.” In this regard, they also collect images from the beginning and end of these walks with tourists. “The effort they have to make is evident,” they point out in the video.
To this they add that these animals that are in the Timanfaya camel enclosure “spend the day without shade, without water and without food”, that they cannot even “get up when they want” and even that “sometimes they lie for hours on their own feces.”
Faced with this, they show images of these animals in another area, to show that “when given the opportunity, most prefer to stand, eating or drinking”, and that “they usually select shade when they want to sit down.”
“In Lanzarote, the famous resistance of dromedaries is used as an excuse to subject them to conditions that would be unacceptable in other animals, and that therefore should also be considered unacceptable in dromedaries,” conclude Ademal and the Franz Weber Foundation, who demand that the Cabildo take measures to address this situation.
As they explained during the press conference, the Lanzarote association decided to turn to this Foundation, given that they did not have the resources to carry out this report that they have now presented publicly.
Warning about possible epidemics
The director of the Franz Weber Foundation for Southern Europe, Leonardo Anselmi, accompanied the local organization in registering the questions in the Cabildo, also emphasizing the prevention of future epidemics. “There is a more than worrying fact, and that is that environmental deterioration and animal exploitation are authentic biological time bombs. We want to know what the government has done or plans to do to prevent future pandemics caused by contact between humans and animals, in this case camels,” reflected the ecologist.
In this regard, they have insisted that "there is a direct relationship between animal exploitation, environmental deterioration and pandemics", pointing out that "according to various scientific studies (Omrani, Al-Tawfiq and Memish, 2016), MERS occurred due to the consumption of camel meat or milk, and through direct contact of humans with these animals in tourist activities where camels are exploited to carry out tours as an attraction".
MERS, a type of respiratory coronavirus, "originated in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and spread through various countries of the world, with a mortality rate of 27% against 7% of COVID-19", they recall. For this reason, in the battery of questions that they have addressed to the Cabildo, the organizations consult about zoonosis risk prevention plans, while recommending that the Cabildo "launch an inspection program and protocols for the prevention of these transmissions".
