Camel meat being used to treat skin allergies in dogs

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Camels have been in the news lately. Camel rides on Cable Beach in northern Western Australia have been a great tourist attraction for many years. However, a day or two ago, a rogue camel decided it had had enough of giving rides and bolted depositing its riders on the sand. So that might affect sales for a while. Now a bit of back story on a related subject: When a dog has allergies and/or inflammation, a ‘novel diet’ might be introduced as a diagnostic tool to pinpoint the problem. A completely new protein source is introduced for a while then the ‘old’ food items re-introduced one at a time to check the reaction to each. Camel meat has been found to be ideal for this purpose. Feral camels are a pest on our outback stations, with herds of up to several hundred being recorded in some areas. They complete with cattle for feed and water and culling is difficult and expensive. One outback station has had success by working with a pet food company and processing camel meat for pet food. Camels don’t come into contact with fertilisers or chemicals so the meat is organic. Veterinarians are having great success treating dogs with skin allergies by using camel meat. What a great outcome if a commercial use can be found for camel meat. The photo was taken on the Nullarbor by a friend.