Camel is not only the national animal of UAE, but it is one of the most prominent tourist attraction. It is commonly said if you visit Dubai, your trip cannot be complete without Desert Safari and camel ride. But I am also sorry to mention that inspite of so many cleanliness campaigns some people behave inappropriately towards keeping the camel?s abode i.e desert, clean. People do desert camping, enjoy the surroundings but they forget to pick up the plastic left overs, bottles, etc. Hundreds of camels die each year from ingesting plastic bags left behind in the desert.

As per Vet Doctor Wernery, rocks of calcified plastic weighing up to 60 kilograms are found in camel stomachs every day during the post-mortems in his clinic.

Wernery said the curious animals nibble on plastic bags that are thrown from car windows or dumped in the desert by campers and day-trippers.

The animals ingest plastic bags and ropes which then calcify in their stomach. The heavy rocks or balls fill up the stomach and make it impossible for the animals to eat, causing them to eventually die of starvation. To make the situation worse camel calves are worst affected.

Few days back I had participated in desert clean up drive by Emirates Environment Group where I actually noticed piles of plastics , broken glasses, cigarette butts, bottles and synthetic ropes. Near to the place, herds of camel were passing by. Fortunately they were escorted by few local men to a safer place.

There were hundreds of volunteers including me and we all collected so much plastic waste and bottles that I could notice that our bags were over filled. Thanks to Environment agencies and groups for organizing such clean up campaigns on a larger scale, otherwise the situation would have been beyond control and our camels would have been categorized as endangered animals.

This is the time to call for an end to this fatal pollution .  Revelers must stop polluting the desert with plastic.

Input- alarabiya news