Saudi Arabia has announced plans to issue official passports for camels. The Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture said the move will help better manage the population of camels in the country and will help in creating a reliable national database. It is to be believed that the initiative will improve productivity and efficiency across the camel sector.
As reported by Al Ekhbariya, a state-backed broadcaster, the documents will be helpful in regulating camel trading and transport; they will also protect owners’ rights and make it smoother to prove ownership. Saudi Arabia is approximately home to around 2.2 million camels as of 2024.
The passport will “contribute to organizing sales and trading operations by regulating commerce and transport, ensuring official documentation, protecting owners’ rights, and facilitating proof of ownership,” Al Ekhbariya reported.
The camel passport will function as a comprehensive identification and ownership document, with each passport containing significant details like the microchip number, passport number, the camel’s name, date of birth, breed, gender, color, place of birth, and photographs from both sides to ensure accurate identity verification.
The initiative is also expected to support long-term livestock planning because of the accurate data on camel populations with age, gender, breed, and color data available. The initiative is also expected to support genetic performance analysis and local breed improvement programs.
“By creating an accurate database of camels categorized by sex, age, breed, and color, the system will support national plans for organizing livestock resources across the kingdom regions,” MEWA highlighted.
The passport will also include a dedicated vaccination table that will document veterinary immunization records, certified by the name, signature, and stamp of the veterinarian. Saudi Arabia ranks among the world’s leading camel-owning countries, with an estimated 80,000 owners, according to unofficial figures.
Camels have been central to life on the Arabian Peninsula for millennia. A study published in 2021 suggests that life-sized carvings of camels and horses etched into rock formations in Saudi Arabia may be around 7,000 years old.
