Al Ain doctor sees potential in camels beyond their milk

Dr Abdul Raziq Kakar has launched Camel4Life, a group to promote the use of camels by the world’s poorer communities, and to give traditional producers an international voice.

Dr Abdul Raziq Kakar of Camel4Life, at Al Ain Dairy camel farm. Each female produces 30 litres of milk daily. Antonie Robertson / The National

The camel has been an integral part of life in the Arabian peninsula, and elsewhere, for thousands of years, but their potential is yet to be fully realised, says Dr Abdul Raziq Kakar.

The technical manager for Al Ain Dairy's camel farm, he has launched Camel4Life, a group to promote the use of camels by the world's poorer communities, and to give traditional producers an international voice.

Dr Kakar, who is also founder of the Camel Association of Pakistan, credited camel milk with relieving his arthritis more than a decade ago, when he was advised to drink it by a tribal elder.

The camel's abilities could, the organisation said, make it vital in areas that suffer climatic disruption due to global warming. Yet, despite their value, the animals face challenges. For example, the area given over to them for grazing in India and Pakistan is said to be falling, there has been mass killing of feral camels in Australia, and the creatures have been linked to the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers).

Dr Kakar has secured the support of other specialists, among them Dr Ursula Windberger, an associate professor and veterinary surgeon at the Medical University of Vienna's Department of Biomedical Research.

Dr Windberger hoped one of Camel4Life's first projects will be to introduce camels to a village in Assam, north-east India.

The organisation also wants to promote the voices of camel herders in international forums.

It said their views were not often heard amid a focus on modern husbandry.