DECEPTIVE DAIRY
Once wild and free. Now commodified for human use.
They claim it’s ethical. They claim it’s sustainable. They claim it’s healthy.
What’s the truth?
The Australian camel dairy industry is an emerging animal agribusiness.
Behind the marketing, camels are mustered, exploited and discarded.
What the industry sells as “natural” and “humane” hides a reality of suffering, and risk.
Individuals Are Not a Commodity.
Camels are intelligent, social animals. They form bonds. They grieve separation. They recognise caregivers.
They deserve more than being reduced to a production unit.
WHAT WE FOUND
TRIGGER WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT - WATCH THE FOOTAGE
Footage from inside Australian Camel Dairies.
No welfare standards. No oversight. No regulation.
Next to no welfare standards, oversight or regulation.
Animal Liberation would like to acknowledge Farm Transparency Project and AnimalKIND for their contributions to some of our video footage content.
HOW IT’S MARKETED
VS.
THE REALITY
The industry sells a pristine image. The evidence tells a different story.
WHAT YOU SEE
Ethical claims, scenic landscapes, and 'happy' camels.
WHAT WE FOUND
Capture, confinement, stress, and industrial exploitation.
Take More Action Now
The camel dairy industry relies on marketing to hide the reality of mustering, calf separation, servitude and slaughter. While they claim to be ethical, they continue to operate under a regulatory code from 2006 that allows aggressive mustering and trapping. With production growing by hundreds of thousands of litres annually, we must act now to stop this expansion before it becomes the new standard for dairy.
FROM WILD TO WASTE
MUSTERED & CAPTURED
"You can literally go out, pull your truck up, and if you can get one on that’s it."
Wild camels are hunted down and forced onto transport trucks. Families can be separated in the chaos.
NON-REGISTERED DRUGS
“No registered antibiotics.
No government oversight."
Camels are being fed drug cocktails in an industry with zero oversight.
THE MEAT CONNECTION
"The camel dairy industry is also the meat industry."
When they are no longer useful, they are on-sold, sent to a slaughterhouse, or left to rot in on-site graveyards.
How the System Works
Camel dairies don’t begin on farms. They begin in the wild.
Turning a wild animal into a milk-producing unit requires a system of capture, transport, conditioning, and control.
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Mustering involves the use of vehicles, helicopters, and motorbikes to round up wild herds. This process causes extreme stress, panic, and separation of family units. Mothers are often separated from their calves during the chaos of capture. These animals, who have known only freedom, are suddenly forced into human servitude.
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Camels are transported long distances from capture sites to dairies, often traveling thousands of kilometers. This transport causes significant stress, and potential injury. The logistics of moving large, wild animals across state lines is inherently traumatic.
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Once at the dairy, wild camels must be "broken" or conditioned to accept human handling and milking machines. This process involves overriding their natural instincts and forcing submission. The transition from wild roaming to daily industrial milking in an unnatural environment exacerbates stress.
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Like the traditional dairy industry, camel dairies rely on pregnancy to produce milk. This leads to the production of "surplus" animals, particularly male calves who do not produce milk. These animals are often viewed as waste products and face slaughter, either on-farm or at abattoirs.
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Because they are often classified as "feral" or "pests," camels do not receive the same welfare considerations as other livestock. There are minimal enforceable standards, leaving them vulnerable to abuse and neglect.
Camel Code of Practice | Camel Code of Practice Modifications | NSW Code of Practice and Standard Operating Procedures for the Effective and Humane Management of Feral Camels | Risk Assessment: Dairy Food Safety Scheme | SA Dairy Industry SNAPSHOT | National Code of Practice for the humane control of feral camels | Primary Production & Processing Standard for Dairy Products
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Agrifutures. Camel Milk Market Assessment 2016: Project Summary
Agrifutures. Market Assessment: New and Emerging Animal Industries - Tranche 1: Mohair, Alpaca and Camel Milk
Alhadrami and Faye. Animals that produce dairy foods: camel.
Alhaj and Al Kanhal. Compositional, technological and nutritional aspects of dromedary camel milk. Int. Dairy J. 2010, 20, 811,821.
Fallon et al. Survey of Australian commercial dairy camel farms. Journal of Camelid Science 2020, 13, 22-39.
Faye. The camel: new challenges for a sustainable development. Trop. Anim. Health Prod. 2016, 48, 689-692.
Faye. The enthusiasm for camel production. Emirates J. Food Agric. 2018, 30, 249-250.
Galeboe et al. Production of camel milk yoghurt: physicochemical and microbiological quality and consumer acceptability. Int. J. Food Studies 2018, 7, 51-63.
What Consumers Aren’t
Shown or Told
Camel milk is frequently marketed as natural, healing, and nutrient-dense.
But consumers are rarely shown the full picture of how it is produced — or what health and regulatory questions remain unanswered.
Health Conditions Reported in Australian Camel Dairies
A survey of Australian commercial camel dairies identified recurring health issues including intestinal worms, mange, infectious pododermatitis and mastitis.¹
These are not isolated cases — they are documented conditions within surveyed operations.
While animal health issues are not uncommon in any livestock system, transparency around treatment, residue monitoring, and milk safety protocols remains limited in public-facing marketing.
Off-Label Treatments
There are currently no antibiotics registered specifically for camelids in Australia, meaning treatments may be administered off-label under veterinary discretion.¹
Off-label use is not illegal — but it does raise important questions about:
Residue management
Withdrawal periods
Oversight transparency
Transparent consumer information
Consumers are rarely informed about how health conditions are treated — or what regulatory safeguards are in place.
Parasites & Zoonotic Risk
Intestinal worms and parasitic infections are among the health issues reported by Australian camel dairies.¹
Like all raw or minimally processed animal products, camel milk carries potential risks if hygiene and monitoring standards are not rigorous.
Yet camel milk is often marketed as immune-boosting and medicinal — without evidence or food safety controls.
“Natural” does not automatically mean regulated or healthy, and “traditional” does not automatically mean risk-free.
THE COST OF PRODUCTION
Dairy Cows: Produce ~28 Litres / day
Camels: Produce ~5 Litres / day
The Reality: Camels produce far less milk than cows. To make a profit, the industry must charge high prices and maximize exploitation to extract every drop.
The Environmental Cost
Camel milk is often promoted as a sustainable alternative to traditional dairy.
But sustainability is not defined by marketing — it is defined by inputs, animal welfare outcomes, land use, water demand, and production systems.
Water & Feed Inputs
Camel dairies operate within drought-prone and climate-stressed regions. Across Australia’s dairy sector, rising operational costs (89.8%) and climate instability are already major pressures.²
Like all intensive livestock systems, camel dairies require water, irrigated fodder production, land allocation and waste management. As production expands, resource demand increases.¹
Intensification of Production
Globally, camel milk production is moving away from traditional pastoral systems and toward more industrial dairy-style operations.¹
Intensification typically involves:
Controlled feeding systems
Structured breeding cycles
Increased infrastructure
Higher productivity targets
When output increases, a negative environmental footprint follows.
The Sustainability Question
Camel milk is frequently marketed as an ethical, climate-friendly, sustainable alternative.
But sustainability claims require transparency.
What are the water inputs?
What are the methane outputs?
What are the waste management standards?
What is the long-term ecological impact?
What is the animal welfare cost?
These are rarely addressed in consumer-facing narratives.
CHEMICAL CONTROL BEHIND THE SCENES
As production intensifies, animal health and output must be maintained under tighter constraints.
An industry survey of Australian commercial camel dairies spotlights health conditions including mastitis, intestinal worms, mange and infectious pododermatitis.¹ These conditions require veterinary intervention, including drugs.
Currently, there are no antibiotics registered specifically for camelids in Australia.¹ Treatments may therefore be administered off-label under veterinary supervision.
Off-label use is legally permitted — but it raises important transparency questions:
What substances are being used?
How are withdrawal periods monitored?
What residue testing safeguards are in place?
What reporting obligations exist?
Do food labels protect consumers?
Camel milk is frequently marketed as natural, healthy and medicinal.
Yet little public-facing information is provided about treatment protocols or regulatory oversight.
When productivity becomes the priority, intervention becomes routine.
EXPLORE THE EVIDENCE
This investigation draws on industry surveys, peer-reviewed research, and documented facility findings.
For journalists, researchers, policymakers and concerned consumers, we have compiled supporting materials below.
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Download visual summaries of the production system, regulatory gaps and documented concerns.
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Peer-reviewed studies and survey data referenced throughout this campaign.
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AN EMERGING INDUSTRY
In 2016, Australia produced 50,000 litres of camel milk annually. By 2019, that number had skyrocketed to 180,000 litres.
Australia has the world's largest disease-free camel population. The industry is exploiting this as an unregulated, free commercial resource.
BOYCOTT CAMEL DAIRY
From skincare to gelato, every purchase funds exploitation. Pledge to reject all camel products.
There is no government oversight. No welfare standards. We are the only ones watching.
Your donation funds cameras, investigators, and legal fees to expose facilities like the Brisbane Valley Abattoir.
FUND THE FIGHT
They market it as ethical. We know the truth. Don't buy into the deception.
Production has skyrocketed to 180,000 litres.
Stop the demand before it becomes the next factory farming disaster.