Three held in UAE over camel ‘stun’ jockeys
By Ria Novosti
Police in Dubai police have arrested three people on suspicion of producing and selling robot jockeys that deliver electric shocks to camels to make them run faster in races, a police source said.
The suspects were arrested while trying to sell two machines for 15,000 dirhams (USD 1,808).
Small children were previously employed as camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates, but their use was banned over abuse concerns and robots are now used.
Camel racing is a popular traditional sport in the UAE. A thoroughbred racing camel can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
Several years ago Sheik Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the son of Dubai’s ruler Sheik Mohammed and his heir apparent, bought 16 camels for $4.5 million. Sheik Hamdan also once paid $2.7 million for one camel.
