I am currently sitting as the Secretary General of the North American Camel Ranch Owners Association. As a young association, working closely with ICO (International Camel Organization) and Saudi Camel Club, we are working to bring together all of these camel owners and camel farm owners to better promote camels, their products and their cultural heritage. We have been facing obstacles such as the sheer size of our country, the lack of any organization like this existing previously in the States, Covid disruptions and the way camel owners in the States can have such varying livestock experience, herd size and purposes for their camels.

Currently the association has multiple committees working on steps toward our goals such as:

• Creating a registry of camels to improve breeding practices based on genetics, reduce genetic conditions such as dropped ankles and to capture a place a where buyers and sellers could connect. This would also give us a clearer picture of what the camel population in North America looks like and where camels are geographically located.


• A network to lobby for camels to be identified as livestock rather than exotic animals to make owning camels easier and possibly increasing the odds of importing camels to the United States or between Canada and the US.


• Planning and hosting an annual festival that celebrates the international camel culture; promotes camel products and services within North America; provides an opportunity for camel owners to advance their knowledge of the industry and introduces the public to the camel in an educational and informative way.


• Improving the accessibility to camel focused veterinary care and camel specific products such as feeds, supplements and medications.

We have a long way to go with our goals, but this small community of camels owners are very passionate about their animals and the future for their animals.