FORGET THE CAMEL – Elizabeth MeLampy

Information

Author:

Elizabeth MeLampy

Date:

Apollo
April 2025

Author:

Additional Info

FORGET THE CAMEL

Rights Holder: Apollo
Original Language: English

A raucous entry into animal festivals across America uncovers how humans triangulate who we are and what makes us special through the symbolism we attach to animals and the stories we use to rise above them.

As the gates open at the racetrack in Virginia City, Nevada, three camels stumble out, ridden by amateur jockeys. A crowd of roaring spectators looks on gleefully, but as the camels approach the first turn, one loses its footing and crashes to the ground. While the camel’s handlers rush to calm the animal, the race’s emcee calls out in defense of the jockey. “Check on Charlie!” he cries. “Forget the camel!”

The International Camel and Ostrich Races is just one of hundreds of animal festivals that take place around the world every year, each putting animals on display for humans to gawk at, demonize, or adore. But why? What value do these festivals and their rituals hold, and why when the animals are in distress do we insist that the show still must go on?

In Forget the Camel animal advocate and lawyer Elizabeth MeLampy meets the groundhogs, butterflies, rattlesnakes, lobsters, sled dogs, and other creatures we use to build community, instill fear, and transmit meaning. She shows how killing rattlesnakes in Texas represents a triumph over the Wild West; how massive lobster boils on Maine’s Atlantic coast show solidarity with the working class; and how the celebration each February of a single groundhog reminds us of our reliance on nature. In the process, she presents a deft blend of reportage and personal narrative that raises profound questions about our human impulse to dominate and differentiate ourselves.

Certain to be appreciated by fans of Yuval Noah Harari, Mary Roach, and Sy Montgomery, Forget the Camel is an immersive entry into the sights, smells, tastes, and noise of animal festivals across the country, and a muchneeded call for a kinder future.

Elizabeth MeLampy is a lawyer whose work focuses on animal rights and protection. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, she was named an Emerging Scholar Fellow by the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy in 2020 and received an award for her work with Harvard Law’s Animal Law & Policy Program in 2021. She clerked for judges in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Federal District Court in Arizona and litigated with the Natural Resources Defense Council. She currently lives in Washington, DC.

Related Portfolio

Territorios improbables / Unlikely Territories – Pedro Torrijos

The World Beneath / Richard Smith

Robot, Take the Wheel / Jason Torchinsky

WHEN THE SKY FELL / Michael Deibert