Will India's camels amble forever into the sunset?
Decreasing use of camels in agriculture and transportation, diminishing pasturelands and an erroneous legislation by the Rajasthan government is contributing to the slow death of the camel
This year's Pushkar animal fair was disappointing as far as the main attraction, the camel is concerned. Photo by Vikas Choudhary
This year's Pushkar animal fair held between November 3-12, was disappointing as far as the main attraction, the camel is concerned. Photo by Vikas Choudhary
There were just 3,000-4,000 camels being displayed at the fair, which usually attracts a large number of camel breeders from traditional camel-rearing areas of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat. Photo by Vikas Choudhary
The low presence of camels at Pushkar comes even as the results of the 2018 National Livestock Census released recently noted as sharp drop in India's camel population. Photo by Vikas Choudhary
Overall, the camel population in India declined from 4 lakh in 2012 to just 2.5 lakh in 2019. In Rajasthan, it decreased from 3.26 lakh to 2.13 lakh, in Gujarat from 30,000 to 28,000, in Haryana from 19,000 to 5,000 and in Uttar pradesh from 8,000 to just 2,000. Photo by Vikas Choudhary
Most camel breeders this reporter spoke to at Pushkar, cited the same reasons for the population decline: Increasing use of vehicles both for transportation and agriculture, the diminishing pasturelands for camels, and in case of Rajasthan, the Rajasthan Camel (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 2015. Photo by Vikas Choudhary
