Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day

The hot topic of dinner table conversation at the weekend in Abu Dhabi was a story that Sunday's edition of the excellent Gulf News titled "A Strange Love Affair". Up in Ras Al Khaimah, the most northerly of the seven emirates, a Bangladeshi, who worked as a chauffeur, had been seen going into the camel barn on a regular basis. His employer became suspicious of this activity as the man's duties did not involve dealing with the animals.

So, one evening the boss stealthily followed the driver into the barn and observed him doing what? That's right, having sex with a female camel. As is the custom in that rather rigorous part of the world, the employer then proceeded to give the employee a severe beating after which he brought him to the police. One assumes that niceties such as consulting a lawyer were spared, and so it didn't take very long at all for the suspect to confess to having had regular sex with one particular camel. The culprit pleaded the defence that "he had fallen in love with the animal".

The case came to trial last week and the emirate's Criminal Court sentenced the Bangladeshi to three months in prison — to be followed by deportation. The court also decided that the camel had to die on the grounds that its meat would now be tainted. As the Gulf News rather clinically and legalistically put it: "The animal will be put down at the emirate's slaughterhouse, a representative of the Public Prosecution will be in attendance." Camel, er, lovers are not expected to, er, mount any public protests. They don't tolerate protesting in Ras Al Khaimah. Same goes for bestiality.