It would be pretty normal to think of camels being more suited to be auctioned off in the hot desert country of Queensland or the Northern Territory.
But in the central Victorian cooler climates of Rutherglen, a yard houses more than 300 camels, all currently auctioned via AuctionsPlus.
Listing coordinator Michael Downie said the sale was unusual, but an American investor was coming off the market and instructed to sell off their investments.
"This had been a productive local camel dairy, so all the camels are very domesticated, quiet and are used to being handled," Mr Downie said.
"It's been owned by an overseas investment group who want to pull their investments out of Australia due to the current economic times ahead.
"They've turned around and instructed me to sell their farm, sell their camels and then the clearing sale, for all the other odds and ends that are left."
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Camel milk prices have not substantially weakened and have kept between $20 to $22 a litre lately, with prices slowly rising throughout this decade.
But Mr Downie said high inflation and exchange rates were too much for a camel dairy which was considered a minor operation amongst the group's total investments.
"They thought it would be a good time for a change, and the camel dairy operation has been going for around eight or nine years," he said.
The sale is currently underway via AuctionsPlus and will end on Tuesday at 1pm.
Mr Downie said there had been vibrant interest in the sale, with buyers bidding strongly for many lots.
"Initially, I was expecting not much interest in the sale and thought we were going to flood the market," he said.
"But I've been very surprised with interest generated by the phone inquiries that I've had."
The reasons for buying cattle at the sale varied, from those who wanted to simply boast that they own a camel to animal rescue properties keen to make sure camels do not go to the processors.
"I've had a reasonable amount of inquiry from people wanting to buy a handful of quiet camels who run camel riding operations," Me Downie said.
"Three people who have properties with weed problems have also got in contact and were keen to purchase a few camels as they like to graze on those tough weeds and tree regrowth.
"I also had two different livestock agents contact me saying that are looking to buy them, hold on to them and them dribble them back onto the market in smaller supply and obviously for a profit."
He also said there were prime opportunities for anyone local willing to start their own camel dairy operation and touted that several camel farms were operating successfully throughout northern Victoria.
"I know of another quite productive camel operation near Kyabram, and I sold a parcel of land to another consortium who are starting to build up their camel herd for a potential camel dairy near Rochester, too," he said
Online camel auctions are rare in Australia but an early 2021 online sale of camels in Queensland was deemed a major success by agents.