Despite Australia's Simpson Desert being known for its feral camels, the Birdsville Bakery in outback Queensland has been forced to travel 1,000 kilometres to source meat for its famous camel pies.
The bakery has formed a partnership with a cattle station, a small abattoir and butcher shop in the north Queensland town of Richmond.
"We were getting mixed results from various sources that we were getting camel from," bakery owner Martin Josselyn said.
"We wanted to make sure that when we got the meat that the meat had been processed properly and that a large majority of the fat had been removed."
As a result Mr Josselyn contacted the Carter family from Wyangirie Station, near Richmond, where the late David Carter had been grazing camels for decades.
"We're pretty comfortable that a nice controlled breeding program, like any beef enterprise or sheep enterprise, will work for us."
Abattoir revamp needed
In order to process the Wyangarie camels, local abattoir and butchery Moselle Meats had to revamp its plant, which traditionally killed cattle, goats and some sheep.
Butcher Keegan Nelson said there were some logistical problems with the camels being a completely different shape to the other animals.
"The first one that we got up the race and everything was a bit of an experience, but we got him up there, and we had a look what we needed then," Mr Nelson said.
"When he could put his head over the top of the rail and look at us, we thought well maybe we need another rail there.
"We've done a few modifications and made new cradles and made new stuff and now it's getting easier as we go."
After being processed through abattoir and butchery, Mr Nelson sends the camels on a truck 450 kilometres to Mount Isa where the Birdsville Bakery transports them south.
"In the scheme of things it's a long way but in areas out here it's not that far," he said.
Processing local camels difficult
With plenty of wild camels living in the surrounding area of Birdsville, Mr Josselyn said the bakery had considered using the local animals.
"We don't have a closed mind to the fact that there are several feral camels around this area on most of the major stations," he said.
"It's something we're looking at, a couple of the local station managers around here are quite enthusiastic about that scenario."
However, Mr Josselyn said the reliability of supply was the main reason for taking his supply chain to Wyangarie Station.
"It's no good having a curried camel pie if you can't actually get any camel because you haven't caught any this week," he said.
"It's a bit like the goanna goulash, we don't have one of those because those bloody goannas are too hard to catch."
