But what happens to camels when their working life is over?

Enter the Sedgwick animal rescue team of Matty's Sanctuary.

The service has managed to take in a massive herd of camels in recent weeks, but there are more on the way in the coming week.

The sanctuary's owner Matthew Glascott has been busy finding homes for the animals as their former home - a camel dairy - closes down.

The dedicated animal lover knew if he could match meat prices for the camels - fluctuating around $200 a head - he would have a chance at saving the creatures from a grisly fate.

With the first lot of 50 young camels mostly in their new homes, Mr Glascott has his eyes set on bringing home 46 mother camels next Thursday.

"The (50) were all pre-adopted and we knew it was happening a couple months prior so we had people lined up and gave them the best homes and it was all set up," Mr Glascott said.

"Two hundred dollars is very cheap for such a large animal but we're still working to find them the right homes and making sure people realise they need the proper fencing and everything.

"It's a long commitment - they can live for 50 years."

The sanctuary will only be able to host the new arrivals for a short while however, as the team is already extremely busy looking after a minimum of 100 permanent residents including pigs, buffalo, cows, goats, camels, turkeys, chickens and ducks - plus emergency rescues.

The menagerie frequently takes in newbies from dairy farming like the camels.

Mr Glascott said most dairies aim to keep 10 per cent of male animals for breeding, as well as the females for milking.

The rest are often killed or, in the case of a lucky few, they find their way to the much-loved menagerie in Sedgwick.

Mr Glascott said those keen to offer a new home for a camel or two would need good fencing and a lot of land for their new family member.

While camels can initially be timid, with a lot of time and affection people can have camels hugs around the clock.

Permanent fixtures at the sanctuary include Humphrey, Lawrence and Sedgwick, all of whom show a decided interest in people - even strangers - and camera tripods.

Those interested in camel adoption can message Matty's Sanctuary Facebook page to express their interest.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: