From The Economist’s DUBAI briefing for October 2005:

“A camel has been condemned to death after a worker was caught having sex with it in the remote emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. The man, a Bangladeshi driver, was sentenced to three months in jail for his dangerous liaisons. His employer reported him to the authorities after spotting him making regular visits to the camel barn, Gulf News reported.

Ras Al Khaimah is one of the poorer and more traditional sheikhdoms that make up the seven United Arab Emirates, and its judiciary tends to be more conservative than its neighbours’ (Dubai is about an hour’s drive away). Reports said authorities ordered the camel to be killed in accordance with Islamic or sharia law, because its meat was considered tainted by the man’s performances.”

I think it’s a case of persecuting the wrong party. Why kill the poor camel for a ghastly act committed by a human being? It’s not as if the camel was a willing partner. And, will killing the camel solve the problem? Maybe the authorities think that imprisoning the man for three months will see him come out as a saint. I wonder what the world has come to.