Saudi Arabia launches camel passports to record identity, ownership and health

Saudi Arabia has begun issuing passports for its millions of camels. According to the Saudi Gazette, the Camel Passport initiative was launched in Riyadh in the first week of February 2026 by Mansour Al-Mushaiti, Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture. In a video posted on social media, the ministry showed the document: a green passport bearing the national emblem and a golden camel. Officials say it will make camel husbandry more efficient and create a dependable record of each animal's identity and ownership.

The ministry describes the passport as a complete identification document, the Saudi Gazette reported. It carries the number of the microchip implanted in the animal, a passport number, the camel's name, date of birth, breed, sex, colour and place of birth, the date and place of issue, and photographs of the camel from both sides so that its identity can be checked. A separate vaccination record lists each immunisation, certified with the name, signature and stamp of the veterinarian who gave it.

The scheme is part of the National Program for the Development of the Livestock and Fisheries Sector. The ministry said it will bring sales, transport and transfers of ownership under official documentation, protect owners' rights and let buyers price camels on accurate data about health, breed and lineage, making local and international auctions more transparent. Counts of camels by age, sex, breed and colour are also meant to guide planning, breeding and programmes to improve local breeds.

BBC Bangla reported that, according to government figures for 2024, Saudi Arabia has about 2.2 million camels, contributing more than two billion riyals a year to the economy. Citing Arab News, the BBC put the world's camels at around 35 million, 17 million of them in the Arab world; among Arab countries Somalia has the most, followed by Sudan, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The camel is part of Saudi Arabia's national symbolism, and the country holds camel beauty contests and shows that reward the best animals. Trade in camel products is growing. A company called Sawani has invested in camel milk and milk powder, has exported to 25 countries and also makes camel-milk ice cream. The Abel brand turns camel hair and hide into clothing, handmade bags and shoes; camel leather is regarded as the toughest and most durable after crocodile. Camel specialists say the animals of Oman and Sudan are known for racing, while those of Saudi Arabia's coastal regions are known for high milk yields. Camels are also graded by colour, from brown to reddish.

Under Vision 2030 the camel industry is expected to become one of the kingdom's main sources of non-oil income.

A camel can carry up to 400 kilograms, which is why it is called the ship of the desert. In the early twentieth century camels were the only way to reach Mecca and Medina, and pilgrim caravans from Afghanistan, Central Asia and South Asia arrived in Saudi Arabia on camelback. Four hundred years ago traders known as Iqlat took camels to markets as far away as India, Turkey, Morocco and Nigeria.

At the Camel Site near Sakaka in the Al-Jawf region, large camel figures are carved in relief into the rock. When they were first excavated in 2018 they were thought to be about 2,000 years old. A study by Maria Guagnin and colleagues, published in September 2021 in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, analysed erosion patterns, marks on the carvings and animal bones found at the site and dated the carvings to seven to eight thousand years ago, before camels were domesticated and earlier than the pyramids of Giza.

Badr bin Saud, a columnist for the Riyadh newspaper and a Saudi historian, told the BBC: "Without the camel, survival in this dry and scorching desert would have been impossible." King Abdulaziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, kept a herd known as Al-Ramaat; King Salman is a keen admirer of camels, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman owns a fine pedigree camel named Al-Sharaf.

Photo: Peter Dowley / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Sources: BBC Bangla, Saudi Gazette, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (Guagnin et al.), Wikipedia