Yaiza unanimously backs camel riding sector in Timanfaya National Park

Yaiza Ayuntamiento has thrown its full weight behind Lanzarote’s camel riding industry, approving an Institutional Declaration in support of the sector’s sustainable activities within Timanfaya National Park. The motion, requested by the governing coalition led by Óscar Noda, was passed during a plenary session on Monday.

Immediately after the vote, all political parties represented in the southern municipality – UPY, CC, PP, YAS and PSOE – demonstrated their unanimous support by gathering at the Casa del Camello alongside the Association of Camel Herders of Lanzarote (ACALAN), livestock farmers from Uga, individuals connected to the sector, and the Lanzarote Island Federation of SMEs (FELAPYME). FELAPYME has also publicly defended the sector against recent campaigns by the Franz Weber Foundation concerning alleged animal abuse.

Óscar Noda has called on all of Lanzarote’s local governments “to record in their plenary sessions the island’s unity in supporting this productive and sustainable sector linked to tourism”. The mayor has already forwarded the text of the Institutional Declaration to the island’s mayors, urging that it be debated and approved in the plenary sessions of the various town councils and, of course, in the Lanzarote Island Council.

The Yaiza Declaration states, “historically, the camel has always been an indispensable ally in agricultural tasks, in ploughing, in the grape harvest, and also in threshing legumes, as well as in all of Lanzarote’s socioeconomic activity. An example of this is the animal’s usefulness in transporting water for the subsistence of the island’s inhabitants, among many other daily activities. Camels were also used to transport stone, sand, and topsoil.”

The declaration argues that “the lack of control over content on social media allows for the endless amplification of attacks on the camel riding sector, to the detriment of Lanzarote’s image as a tourist destination.”

It also warns that “the risk of losing the role of the camel riders also entails the risk of losing part of Lanzarote’s traditional culture and the wealth of customs cultivated by the camel driving sector and its workers throughout history.”

Yaiza further points out that “while the great value of Timanfaya National Park lies in its scenic and ecological richness, there is no doubt about the tremendous contribution the camel herding sector makes to the respectful and sustainable use of the area for tourism. The camel herder’s job is not just to guide the animals in Timanfaya. In Vallito de Uga, herders care for the camels, feed them, saddle them, and take them to the resting place.”

Until the 1960s, the livelihood of Lanzarote’s residents was based primarily on the primary sector: agriculture, fishing and goat herding. Tourism then emerged as the main source of income, and it was in the 1960s that the Yaiza Ayuntamiento began to regulate camel rides in Timanfaya. Currently, there are 290 authorised licences.