Even though it commands such high prices, milking camels is a rapidly growing industry that has a waiting list of up to four months for its products.
It is this demand that has farmers in southern Victorian dairy regions looking closely at an animal that is usually confined to the hot deserts of central Australia.
Auctioneers will sell 200 camels on Saturday, May 30 at Shepparton in northern Victoria.
Ebony Loffel’s family captures wild camels from a property they lease in outback South Australia and transport them to their property at Mooroopna, near Shepparton, before sale.
«There is a lot of demand for camel milk at the moment and we’ve got a lot of girl camels with babies that are ideal for milking.»
Feral camels can be a lucrative business in southern Australia.
In previous auctions in the Goulburn Valley region, camels fetched between $300 -$600.
Agents say there has been a lot of interest in the auction from families looking for a pet, farmers looking for weed control and farmers in the dairy camel industry.
Ms Loffel said the immediate demand was a surprise.
«It has only been in the last 12 months or so camel dairies have taken off,» she said.
«There is a few bigger established dairies in Western Australia and Queensland and one in the Shepparton region that’s getting bigger.
«The interest is why we’ve got all of these camels.»
Source: ABC
