MH Vatavaran, the Environment Society of Miranda House in collaboration with AAVYA , presented a documentary “Dominion”, an Aussie Farms production under the Farms Transparency Project showcasing the horrors and barbaric, inhumane behavior meted out to the animals of dairy industry. Here's a brief report on one of the animals the documentary discusses about.
Camels are used for entertainment, scientific research, clothing and pharmaceutical purposes. Camels were brought to Australia in the 1800s to be used for transport and then were released into the wild following the advent of automobiles . By 2008, their population was estimated at 600,000 leading the government to start a culling project that effectively halved their numbers , primarily by shooting them from flying helicopters but also by rounding them and trucking them to slaughterhouses for export to the United States and Middle East - a practice which continues even today.
Having spent their entire life roaming freely without human contact, the sudden confinement and forceful handling, is completely foreign to them. They are given electric shocks and then slaughtered for the meat industry expanding at an ever increasing pace . An increasing number of camels caught in the wild are being diverted to camel dairies, an expanding industry that promotes itself as a healthier alternative to cow milk products and a less wasteful alternative to aerial culling. According to PETA, in 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has found that the Camel Farm is denying proper care and veterinary treatment to the animals it holds captive. The agency found that the owners denied adequate veterinary care to a camel with a fly-covered growth on his chest. Even paint brushes are made of camel hair for which the procurement process is inhuman.
The breeding center is vitally important for the conservation of this beautiful animal. Protection and good maintenance of orans (sacred groves) is essential as nutritional foundation for camel herds. Furthermore, one or more camel sanctuaries should be established for preserving them. Also, creating awareness among people about how camels are treated and killed for satisfying consumer demands is necessary . We also need government intervention here to make existing rules more stringent. Illegal slaughterhouses need to be raided and closed along with proper action against the perpetrators.
-By Aditi Sharma, Chemistry (Hon), 2nd year
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