Camel Breeders in Raqqa Suffer from a lack of pastoral areas
Camel Breeders in Raqqa Suffer from a lack of pastoral areas
The camel breeders in the Syrian city of Raqqa suffer from the lack of pastoral areas and scarcity of herbs that the camels feed on, in addition to the purchasing of fodder that weighs heavily on the breeders, which, in turn, led to the lower prices of camels and the non-purchase of its meat.
Camels Breeding
The Syrian Badia is the natural and suitable place for camels to live, in which they adapt to the high temperatures, the lack of water and scarcity of herbs, however in the recent years camels seen in large numbers in the northern countryside of Raqqa, even though the area is not suitable for breeding where it lacks plants and the grass that camels feed on, as well as the muddy soil that often leads to the slipping of camels and causing them some.
Hamad Al-Ramthan, one of Al-Fada’an clan, who owns a herd of camels and lives in Tal Al-Samn village in the northern countryside of Raqqa, told North Press about their suffering from the low camel prices because of the absence of markets outlet of camels in the cities of Damascus, Aleppo, and Hama. He clarified that the Syrian Government imposes 50,000SYP (88 USD) for each camel as a fee to graze in the desert areas under its control.
suffering
Jasem Al-Ramthan, the camels breeder in the north of Raqqa, said that the lack of veterinarians had increased their suffering, pointing at the lack of support from the concerned authorities in Raqqa countryside and other areas in the north and east of Syria.
The breeder Muhammad Al-Drea’I, stressed that they are compelled to sell the young of camels at cheap prices, in order to secure the cost of fodder for their livestock, which led to a decrease in their numbers, plus, he said that the camels meat cannot be bought and are competed by the prices of sheep meat.
Camel breeders lost many of their livestock in Badia because of the battles between the Syrian Government Forces and ISIS. That compelled the breeders to move towards Raqqa city to save the source of their livelihood.
The number of camels in Raqqa is about 4000, and their prices are between 300000 to 600000 SYP each, thousand Syrian pounds (526-1050 dollars), this is depending on their weights. Depending on their weights, of which the strongest one weighs 600 kg.
Raqqa – Hashim Ahmed – NPA