Animal rights advocates are criticising a traditional camel wrestling festival in western Turkey that draws thousands of spectators each year, claiming that the large ruminants are abused and wounded during the event.
On Sunday, the 40th International Camel Wrestling Festival was held in Selcuk, a town in the Aegean province of Izmir, with 152 camels dressed in saddles, ornate fabrics and embroidery in a variety of patterns and colours on their humps and necks.
The camels are herded into a sandy arena to tangle with one another, with referees and other personnel present, albeit they are required to wear muzzles to avoid bite wounds.
Thousands of people put up tables and chairs on a hill adjacent to the arena, where they cook on grills, eat, and drink while watching the animals compete.
Goading animals to fight one another is a “major crime,” Gulgun Hamamcioglu of the Animal Rights Federation (HAYTAP) in Izmir stated.
“You witness an animal, a living being, fighting in front of you, and it is hurting, possibly killing each other. People appreciate it and may even profit financially from it,” she added.
“Please, let us all come together to put an end to this picture of disgrace, to this scene that makes us embarrassed of humanity,” Hamamcioglu said.
The camels cannot significantly damage each other, according to Mehmet Falakali, former head of the tourist ministry’s Selcuk office and there are employees to remove them if confrontations grow too intense.
“When the referee notices a bad development, the individuals responsible with separating the camels pull them away from each other,” he added.
“There’s certainly nothing like them breaking each other’s hooves or biting each other,” Falakali, who has worked on the festival for 35 years, remarked.
The celebration is a long-standing custom, according to Necip Cotura, who owns three camels and participates in it as a hobby. “It’s something that’s done out of the goodness of one’s heart. It is not a battle, but rather a wrestling match, similar to how humans wrestle,” he stated
Another participant, Yahya Yavuz, stated that his family treats their four camels as if they were children, and that his camels would not harm anyone.
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