Iran, FAO launch joint
project to raise, protect bactrian camel

Iran’s Ministry of
Agriculture and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have
launched a joint project to breed purebred bactrian camel in Iran as part of
efforts to protect the endangered mammal.

An official with the
Ministry of Agriculture, Ahmadreza Seyed-Alian, said on Saturday that FAO had
allocated $350,000 for the implementation of the three-year project.

He added that the project
will mainly focus on the endangered animal's habitat in three provinces in
northwest Iran. 

“The necessary conditions for the production of the
animal will be created in the provinces of Ardabil, East Azarbaijan and West
Azarbaijan with the help of local tribes,” the official said. 

Based on figures revealed
by Iran’s Department of Environment some 15 to 25 percent of animals in Iran
are threatened with extinction and 1 to 5 percent of animals are critically
endangered.

Seyed-Alian added that
the population of purebred bactrian camels in Iran had dropped to 200 in recent
years against a population of 200,000 one-humped camels that are scattered in
various parts of the country.

Proper budget allocation
to organizations striving to safeguard animals would help saving such species
from extinction.