Ethical Camel Conservation & Welfare
The fate of wild Australian camels is a growing concern, as they are subject to an on-going Government culling programs, including the previously 10 Deserts Project and the Ninti-One Project with on-going PIRSA permissions to shoot. These initiatives often involve mass culling, where camels are shot and left to die in remote areas, raising serious ethical and welfare concerns.
We advocate for a more humane and sustainable solution. Our work aims to demonstrate that Australian camels have immense value beyond culling.
Our Approach:
✔ Rehabilitation – We selectively re-settle camels.
✔Responsible Rehoming – Purchasers are thoroughly assessed to ensure the welfare of the camels. Given the significant export costs, buyers make an early commitment to their ongoing care and well-being.
✔ Training & Education – We use & ethical training methods, proving that camels are intelligent, adaptable, and highly trainable.
✔ Australia’s camels are a national treasure, descended from the hardy stock that helped pioneer the Outback. We believe they deserve respect, protection, and a purposeful future—not a bullet.
Camels | Sales | Training | Export
Ethical Camel Sales & Export
Thriving and protected from culling thanks to the work of the Ngaanyatjarra Camel Company across 250,000 km² of Ngaanyatjarra Lands, Australia’s camels offer unmatched diversity, resilience, and quality for dairying, tourism, and breeding. With a population of 300,000, supply far exceeds expectations.
Camel Treks Australia, in partnership with Ngaanyatjarra Camel Company, upholds the highest standards in ethical handling and animal welfare. Together, we meticulously select camels from Australia’s most robust and untouched herds, prioritising health, beauty, and temperament.
As Australia’s only dedicated, professional camel mustering team, the Ngaanyatjarra Camel Company also supports Aboriginal employment. Our full-service approach covers selection, transportation, quarantine, and handling, whether by air or sea.
Camel Treks Australia & the Ngaanyatjarra Camel Company provide direct access to the country’s largest camel populations, ensuring reliable, ethical, and expert-driven camel export solutions.
WARNING: Aboriginal viewers are advised this page may contain images and voices of deceased persons.
Photography & Video Karen-Jane Ellis | Gordon Best | Matt Wedge | NITV - Ngaanyatjarra Media Aboriginal Corporation
Location matters when purchasing camels
Camels are mustered on the Ngaanyatjarra Lands, a vast 250,000 km² expanse covering 3% of mainland Australia, stretching across Western Australia and bordering the Northern Territory and South Australia. Here, camels roam freely in their natural desert habitat, developing resilience, diverse coloration, and exceptional health.
Selecting camels from Australia’s desert regions ensures unmatched hardiness and well-being, far superior to those from eastern or southern dairy farms, where humid conditions and confined environments limit their robustness. Desert-bred camels are parasite-free and naturally adapted to arid landscapes, making them ideal for dairy farming, breeding, and tourism.
With a population exceeding 300,000, we provide a continuous, diverse, and unmatched supply of Australia’s healthiest camels for national and international export. Our camels thrive where they belong—in the desert, not in the wet, tropical, or high-rainfall regions of the east and south.
Ngaanyatjarra Camel Company
Camels have long been part of Ngaanyatjarra culture, proving their suitability in the region since the first non-Indigenous explorers arrived. Local Aboriginal people utilised camels during the transition from foot travel to motor vehicles, and since their release, the population has grown to approximately 300,000.
In August 2012, the Ngaanyatjarra Council partnered with Central Livestock Management, forming the Ngaanyatjarra Camel Company to muster and sell feral camels. In 2015, a collaboration with Camel Treks Australia expanded operations to include the export of trained camels.
Both organisations oppose culling, advocating for a sustainable camel management that provides employment opportunities for local Aboriginal communities while ensuring ethical camel well-being, handling and export.
National and International sales
Leading the Way in Ethical Camel Supply & Management
Camel Treks Australia and the Ngaanyatjarra Camel Company are at the forefront of sustainable camel management, sourcing camels from Ngaanyatjarra Lands through ethical mustering efforts. With experience in AusTrade missions and international camel projects, Camel Treks Australia understands the key attributes sought by global buyers. The mission is to responsibly manage wild herds, fostering a thriving domestic and international camel industry.
With ongoing inquiries from international markets, we continue to explore opportunities for sustainable camel supply. Each camel is assessed with care and respect, ensuring selections align with clients’ specific needs.
Committed to quality, expertise, and ethical handling, we work alongside the industry’s most experienced professionals, prioritising teamwork and best practices in every aspect of operations.
Camel health and well-being
Commitment to Camel Health & Welfare
Our team is dedicated to ensuring the health and well-being of our camels, actively seeking expert guidance to uphold the highest standards of camel welfare and ethical treatment in Australia. Our commitment to showcasing healthy, well-cared-for camels reflects this ongoing dedication.
We are honored to have Professor Rafat Al Jassim as our camel advisor. With over two decades of expertise in nutrition biochemistry and gut microbiology, he is a leading authority in his field. Currently, he serves as Honorary Associate Professor at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) and Editor-in-Chiefof the Journal of Camelid Science. Recently elected Chairman of ISOCARD (International Society of Camelid Research and Development), his guidance ensures we remain at the forefront of camel health and welfare in Australia.
Stages of camel training
Camel Training & Preparation Packages
Quarantine & Veterinary:
Handling Camels are trained to respect yards, stand calmly for veterinary inspection, and undergo essential health checks. Slow, confined-space training during quarantine ensures safe, injury-free transport.
Dairy Farm Training:
Camels learn to respond to verbal commands, accept haltering, leading, and gentle handling of the head, legs, and udder. They are conditioned to remain calm with staff and veterinarians without the need for physical restraints.
Zoological & Tourism Training:
Camels are trained to sit on verbal command, lead in a string, and respond calmly to riders. They undergo gradual saddle introduction, adapting to the weight of a rider in a positive, reassuring environment. Training ensures they remain relaxed in tourism settings, responding well to new sights, sounds, and interactions with visitors.Our approach prioritises calm, ethical training, ensuring camels are well-prepared, safe, and comfortable in their new roles.
Camel Trainers
Experienced & Ethical Camel Handlers
Paul and Karen Ellis have dedicated their lives to understanding and training camels, working with Australian camels since the 1980's. Their journey began individually, later crossing paths at a camel event, and evolving into a shared commitment to ethical, low-stress handling techniques.
Since 2015, they have collaborated with the Ngaanyatjarra Camel Company, ensuring the healthiest, best-prepared camels for export. Their approach focuses on calm, non-violent methods, training camels for halter acceptance, leading, saddling, riding, dairy operations, tourism, racing, and transport.
With decades of experience, they prioritise minimising stress and injury, believing well-prepared camels are easier to handle and thrive in their new environments. They have also worked extensively in quarantine facilities, export logistics, and veterinary processes, ensuring smooth transitions for camels and their new owners.
Paul and Karen continue to operate Camel Treks Australia Pty Ltd, receiving recognition for their work and sharing their expertise globally.
Contact Us
Camel Treks Australia Pty Ltd Suite 608, 50 Commercial Road
Port Augusta, S.A 5700
M. 0432236131
INT./ WhatsApp +61 432236131