The mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, has urged the Cabildo de Lanzarote and the island's seven municipalities to take a stand in defense of the camel sector. This initiative comes as a response to the campaign launched by the Franz Weber Foundation, which seeks to eliminate camel rides in the Canary Islands, with a particular focus on Timanfaya National Park, where they have already gathered over 34,000 signatures of support.
The Yaiza City Council hopes that the public administrations on the island will approve institutional declarations supporting sustainable activity in Timanfaya. The aim is to highlight the tourist and cultural value of this practice, as well as its historical contribution to the well-being of Lanzarote.
“"We are witnessing a new wave of attacks by entities and individuals who are unaware of the activity and yet intend to demonize the work of the camel drivers of Uga; we must make it crystal clear that Lanzarote stands united with the camel sector."
The mayor of Yaiza trusts in the involvement of the population of the seven municipalities, who, according to him, "truly know the value of the camel sector and the effort made by breeders to maintain the most important camel herd in Europe." Noda emphasizes that "without the sustainable activity of camel rides in Timanfaya National Park, there would be no camels".
In this context, the demand to declare the camel herd as an intangible Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) is being revisited. In 2020, the Yaiza City Council already submitted a plenary agreement to the Cabildo urging the opening of a file for this purpose. Noda stresses that "it is impossible to ignore the historical and predominant role of the camel in farming work and in the construction of Lanzarote's island landscape".
The Franz Weber Foundation's campaign, promoted through Change.org, has an international reach and demands that authorities and tour operators put an end to what they describe as an "inhumane tourist attraction".
