gepubliceerd op 2009-01-05 00:00:00.0
Willemijn Schipper, a student of Animal Sciences, observed dromedary behaviour. To do this she didn't need to go to Africa or Asia, she could study them in the Netherlands, where dromedaries are kept in Noord-Brabant.
'My research is a combination of a thesis and an internship at the departments for Animal Production Systems and Ethology. The research was instigated by an entrepreneur from ‘s Hertogenbosch who experienced obstacles when he decided to milk dromedaries in the Netherlands. He had brought 3 dromedaries over from the Canary Islands to milk them by machine. He soon found out that the dromedary is not listed as an animal that is allowed to be kept for production, which meant that he wasn't allowed to milk them. This list (of animals that are allowed to be kept for production) details all animals that you are allowed to keep for the production of milk, meat, eggs, skin, fur, feathers, honey, wool, blood and urine. On this list you will find for instance our traditional agricultural animals, but also the water buffalo, the ostrich, several different fish, lobsters, snails, insects and worms.
To gain permission to milk his dromedaries, the entrepreneur applied for an exemption at the ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food quality. In December 2006 he was granted exemption by the ministry for two years. He was now allowed to milk his dromedaries. When these two years have passed, he will have to report on the welfare of the animals. Depending on this report, a decision will be made whether dromedaries should be on the list of production animals or not. Soon after the exemption was granted, two dromedaries had a calf, and the milking could begin.
During my research I investigated how the list of production animals is set up, and what criteria an animal has to satisfy to be added to the list. To do this I used the dromedary as a case study. I interviewed employees from the ministry of Agriculture, animal protection organisations, and organisations that protect the interests of animal keepers. I also visited companies which keep other exotic animals like ostriches, water buffalos and barramundi (a tropical fish that has also been granted an exemption). I also visited companies and parks where dromedaries are kept. I went to a company in Germany where they milk dromedaries by hand.
Besides interviewing people, I also did behavioural research. Dromedaries are not indigenous to the Netherlands, so soon the question arose: can they adapt to our climate? Originally dromedaries are found in North Africa, West Africa and the Middle East. It's a lot dryer there than in the Netherlands, but it can be very cold at night in the desert. To find out how dromedaries live here in the Netherlands I did various observations. Museumpark Orientalis and Amersfoort Zoo both keep a number of dromedaries. They are not kept for production purposes, but they have been living in the Dutch climate for quite some time. By observing their behaviour, and observing the behaviour of the dromedaries kept for milking, I could compare them. I also observed the dromedaries' behaviour while they were being milked. There are not a lot of dromedaries that are milked by machine, so there is not a lot known about that.
The observing was quite tiring, from early morning till evening I watched from minute to minute how the dromedaries were behaving. Sometimes it was quite boring, because the dromedaries spend a lot of time eating. But if you watch an animal for a long time you also see very interesting things. A lot of visitors came up and talked to me, and everybody was very interested in my research.
I am now working on writing my report. It is still unclear whether the dromedary will be placed on the list or not, but maybe in a few years everybody in the Netherlands will be drinking dromedary milk!'
