Towards a rational camel breed judging: a proposed standard of a camel (Camelus dromedarius) milk breed

Each modern livestock breed has a clearly defined “breed standard” that assist in the selection to breed the animal with the most desirable traits and to cull the one with poor phenotype or faults in terms of poor conformation or blemishes or unsoundness. The camel (Camelus dromedarius) does not have yet a written rational breed standard. The article proposes a draft breed standard for an hypothetical lowland camel breed selected for milk production. The draft standard list various body areas and physiological parameters and suggest baseline values based on available studies and empiric observations of the author on East African and Arabian camel milk breeds. Anatomical and behavioural faults leading to possible disqualification of a camel from the standard of a camel milk breed are mentioned.