Taking care of camels - Knight Ridder

The Maktoums are so enamored of their camels that Sheik Hamdan built the Dubai Camel Hospital. Its surgery rooms have special operating tables that can accommodate the humps.

Have the operating rooms ever been used? What would happen to a vet if a camel died on the operating table, and there was any doubt about whether the vet was at fault? Can vets purchase malpractice insurance? I heard it suggested that vets have declined to operate on camels for this reason, even when the camel would very likely have benefitted from the surgery.

'The sport is alive due to Sheik Mohammed and Sheik Hamdan in this state,' said Billah, who has worked for the family for 20 years. Camel racing is a state-owned industry in Dubai. In the space of six days of racing, Billah said, 'more than $10 million' might be given away to top finishers, along with four-wheel-drive vehicles and diamond-studded swords.

With incentives like these it's little wonder why some resort to using small 8-year old boys as jockeys.

As reported here and elsewhere, it appears that the UAE is serious this time about enforcing the law against the use of underage jockeys. This has stimulated the interest in robot camel jockeys.