Enforcement and Seizure of Horses and Camels in the UAE

Enforcing court judgments and arbitral awards often presents recurring challenges for claimants in the United Arab Emirates. These challenges can arise for several reasons, such as the claimant or their lawyer failing to follow up, the debtor transferring or concealing assets (e.g., transferring real estate to a spouse), or the existence of prior creditors who have already obtained attachment orders over the debtor’s assets. However, the decisive factor remains: Where and how can such assets be located and identified?

In the UAE, horses and camels can be extremely valuable, with individual animals sometimes fetching hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars. For instance, transactions at the annual Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition can involve substantial sums for a single camel or horse.

Below is an overview of the general enforcement process, followed by specific guidance on how to carry out enforcement actions targeting horses or camels. It is also worth noting that other valuable animals such as falcons or sheep may also be subject to enforcement if they hold significant financial value.

General Enforcement Procedure

Judgments are enforced under the supervision of an execution judge, based on an electronic application in jurisdictions such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah. The Federal Court system, by contrast, may require manual filing and follow-up.

The enforcement request must include:

• The judgment or order to be enforced.
• A detailed breakdown of the awarded amount.

The judge will notify the debtor and schedule a hearing within 15 working days.

If it is established that the debtor has been properly notified under UAE legal procedures (e.g., via registered mail), and they fail to appear, the judge may request confirmation from the Federal Identity Authority regarding the debtor’s presence within or outside the country. Ultimately, it is advisable for the claimant to request service by publication in a local Arabic newspaper.

Once these steps are complete, the claimant may proceed to enforce against the debtor’s assets. This involves submitting a request to the judge to issue orders to various government entities to disclose any registered assets owned by the debtor. While Abu Dhabi courts, for example, maintain a list of such entities, these lists are not comprehensive, and it is the responsibility of the claimant (or their lawyer) to conduct additional investigations and identify other valuable assets and the competent authorities that oversee them.

Where animals are concerned, especially horses and camels, a detailed and specific request must be submitted, even if electronically.

Horses

Horses typically have registered ownership certificates with authorities such as:

• The UAE Equestrian Federation
• The Emirates Arabian Horse Society
• The UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation

A disclosure order directed to these entities may reveal:

• Horses owned by the debtor
• Details of the stables where they are housed

Following this, a court order may be issued to seize the horse(s) at the stables, pending public auction by the court.

From the date of seizure until the auction sale:

• The horse(s) must be maintained and cared for.
• All associated costs are added to the enforcement expenses, payable by the debtor.

Camels

Unlike the horse trade, camel trading in the UAE is often conducted in a traditional and informal manner. While some camels—especially racing or purebred camels—may be registered with entities such as:

• Dubai Camel Racing Club
• Camel Racing Federations

many are kept on private farms (known as “Ezbahs”) and transferred without formal contracts, making asset tracing more difficult.

Despite this, racing or pedigree camels may still be traceable through the appropriate authorities. The lack of formal regulation around camel ownership also complicates cost estimation for care and maintenance after seizure.

Nevertheless, UAE courts may accept cost assessments submitted by the parties.

Judicial Precedent

For example, in Federal Supreme Court Case No. 320 of 2017, the court ruled in favor of a claimant who sought:

“1) An order compelling the defendants to pay AED 367,500 representing the value of the camels, in addition to the amounts he had spent feeding and caring for them, including AED 400/month for water and AED 1,000/month for the caretaker’s salary until judgment is issued… 3) A letter to the Ruler’s Court in the Eastern Region to instruct the ‘Camel Committee’ to inspect the camels and assess whether they were original racing camels.”