An Entertainment Abuses Article from All-Creatures.org
Animal Rights Activists Condemn Turkey's Annual Camel Wrestling Festival
From Roland Azar,
Middle East Vegan Society
June 2024
In a sandy arena, muzzled camels are brought together to wrestle, supervised by referees and other personnel to minimize injuries. Despite the muzzles, animal rights activists assert that the camels still suffer, get wounded, and sometimes even die. People enjoy this and may even profit financially from it.
Animal rights activists are raising concern about the annual camel
wrestling festival in western Turkey, arguing that the camels are
abused and hurt in the process. The festival has thousands of
visitors each year. Held during the camels' mating season, the
festival capitalizes on the increased aggression of male camels,
which are kept from mating and thus more likely to fight.
In a sandy arena, muzzled camels are brought together to wrestle,
supervised by referees and other personnel to minimize injuries.
Despite the muzzles, animal rights activists assert that the camels
still suffer, get wounded, and sometimes even die. People enjoy this
and may even profit financially from it
Victory is determined through a complex scoring system, unfamiliar
to many spectators, where a camel wins by making its opponent
scream, flee, fall, or dislodge its embroidered saddle.
Festival-goers spend a day of music, traditional dances, and
barbecues featuring camel sausage and meat, along with "lion’s
milk," Turkey’s anise-flavored spirit, raki.
Gulgun Hamamcioglu, Izmir representative for the Animal Rights
Federation (Haytap), condemned the event: "Goading animals to fight
is a big crime. These animals suffer, get wounded, and sometimes
even die. People enjoy this and may even profit financially from
it."
"Please, let's all work together to end this shameful spectacle,"
Hamamcioglu pleaded.
As awareness of animal rights grows, some organizations are
advocating for alternatives to traditional camel wrestling. These
alternatives include mock wrestling, where camels interact playfully
without harm, or focusing on other cultural aspects of the festival,
such as parades and cultural displays.
Posted on All-Creatures.org: June 29, 2024
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