Camels being used as food in Australia

ALICE SPRINGS, Australia, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Business owners and environmentalists in Australia are promoting camels as a source of meat to battle an explosion of the country's camel population.

The Daily Telegraph (Britain) said Tuesday that environmentalists support the stance of business owners like Garry Dann, whose slaughterhouse in Australia's Northern Territory has added camel meat to its production line.

"I know blokes who all their lives have meat for breakfast, lunch and tea, and they wouldn't know the difference between camel meat and beef," Dann said.

"Camels can handle Australia's dry conditions and they are a good source of low cholesterol protein," he added.

The camel population in Australia has already exceeded more than a million and is expected to double in size every eight to 10 years, the Telegraph said.

Glenn Edwards, the official tasked with combating the camel population crisis in the Northern Territory, told the British newspaper the use of camel meat can be effective if approached the right way.

"It would be great to see some camels being used (as food), as long as that fits in with the overall goal of managing the impact of camels." Edwards said.