A campaign showcasing the importance of Lanzarote’s camels appears to be having the desired effect, including internationally.
The island’s camel owners have devised the campaign to raise awareness of ongoing efforts to preserve Lanzarote’s native breed of camel and highlight its key role in activities from farming to tourism.
With approximately 300 camels at present, Lanzarote has the most extensive herds in Europe and the sector is at pains to put across the work invested in ensuring their wellbeing and survival.
The work is considered particularly important bearing in mind the opposition frequently voiced in some quarters to the use of the camels for tourism on the island, especially the rides available to the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Timanfaya National Park and its centrepiece volcano.
The local association of breeders and owners (ACALAN) hopes that a new website detailing the care of the camels, the rules governing their use for tourists rides, and their day to today activities beyond the purely tourism aspect will give visitors a more accurate picture of their lives on Lanzarote, including their contribution to maintaining traditional forms of agriculture on the island.
Media coverage of the camels, including details of threats to their survival, has already featured in the main countries of origin of Lanzarote’s tourists, among them the United Kingdom, Germany and France.
