KENYA STANDARD    D KS 2774: PART 4: 2017  
                      ICS …… 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
Grading live animal for meat trade - 
Specification 
 
 Part 4: Camel   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
     PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT, NOVEMBER 2017 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© KEBS 2017         First Edition 2017   
©KEBS  DKS 2774: PART 4: 2017 
 
© KEBS 2017 — All rights reserved 
 
  KENYA STANDARD    DK S 2774: PART 4: 2017  
ICS ……………… 
 
 
 
    
 
  
 
 
Grading live animal for meat trade - 
Specification  
 
Part 4: Camel 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
No copying of this standard without KEBS permission except as permitted by copyright law  
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
  
 
PUBLIC REVIEW DRA FT, NOVEMBER 2017  
 
  DKS 2774: PART 4: 2017  
 
 
  © KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved 
  
 
  
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION 
 
The following organizations were represented on the Technical C ommittee: 
 
Ministry of Agriculture. Livesto ck and Fisheries- Directorate o f livestock production 
Ministry of Agriculture. Livestock and Fisheries - Directorate of veterinary services 
Kenya Camel Association (KCA) 
University of Nairobi (UON) 
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) 
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock  Research Organization (KARLO)  
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) 
Kenya Livestock Marketing Council (KLMC)….Proposed 
Farmers Choice (K) Ltd Consumer Information Network 
Ministry of Health- food safety unit 
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives  National Public Health Laboratories 
Government Chemist’s Department 
Kenchic (K) Ltd. Kenya Meat Commission 
Kenya Nut limited – Morendat Farm 
Choice Meats limited Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) 
 
 
  
 
    
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS 
 
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya standar ds shall be regularly reviewed. Suggestions 
for improvement to published standards, addressed to the Managi ng Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, 
are welcome. 
  
 
  
© Kenya Bureau of Standards , 2016 
 
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 12 of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyrig ht 
subsists in all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 26 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau  of 
Standards may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in w riting 
from the Managing Director. 
 
 
 
 
ISBN 9966-19-638-2  
   
©KEBS  DKS 2774: PART 4: 2017 
 
© KEBS 2017 — All rights reserved 
 
 KENYA STANDARD       
   
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
Grading live animal for meat trade - Specification 
 
 Part 4: Camel 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS) 
 
Head Office:  P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi-00200, Tel.: (+254 020) 605490, 602350,  Fax: (+254 020) 604031 
E-Mail: info@kebs.org, Web:http://www.kebs.org  
 
Coast Region    Lake Region   Rift Valley Region  
P.O. Box 99376, Mombasa-80100  P.O. Box 2949, Kisumu-40100       P.O. Box 2138, Nakuru-20100 
Tel.: (+254 041) 229563, 230939/40               Tel.: (+254 057) 23549, 22396       Tel.: (+254 0 51) 210553, 210555 
Fax: (+254 041) 229448   Fax: (+254 057) 21814 
 
  DKS 2774: PART 4: 2017  
 
 
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Foreword  
 
During the preparation of this s tandard, reference was made to the following documents: 
 
Kenya Meat Commission Act Cap 363 of the laws of Kenya 
 ILRI discussion paper No. 22, Improvement and Diversification o f Somali Livestock Trade and 
Marketing; Towards a formalized grading system for export quali ty livestock in Somalia 
 Stuth, J. et al., (2006). “Livestock Market Information System for East Africa: The Case of LINKS/GL-
CRSP.” In J.G McPeak and P.D Litt le , eds Pastoral livestock ma rketing in Eastern Africa: Research 
and policy challenge 
ES 2789:2012-Grading live animals and carcass 
Australian Standard for the expor t of livestock (version 2.3) 2 011 
 Kadim, I. T., Mahgoub, O., and Mbaga, M. (2014). Potential of camel meat as a non-traditional high 
quality source of protein for huma n consumption. Animal Frontie rs 4:13-17.  
Cap 360 of Animal welfare Act  
 
The assistance derived from the above sources is highly acknowl edged. 
/g3
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
   
©KEBS  DKS 2774: PART 4: 2017 
 
© KEBS 2017 — All rights reserved 
 
  
Grading live animal for meat trade –Specification  
Part 4:  Camel 
 
 
 
1. SCOPE 
 
This Kenya Standard specifies requirements for grading of camel  for meat trade 
 
2  Normative references 
 
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the ap plication of this document. For 
dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated r eferences, the latest edition of the 
referenced document (including any amendments) applies. 
 
I. KS 317: Part 4 Carcasses and meat cuts  
II. Code of practice for animal welfare during transportation. 
 
3. DEFINITIONS 
For the purposes of this standa rd, the following definitions sh all apply: 
3.1 Camel   
is an even-toed ungulate with padded feet in the genus Camelus,  bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as 
"humps" on its back. There are two domesticated species of came l, which are: the dromedary, or one-
humped camel (C. dromedarius), which inhabits the Middle East a nd the Horn of Africa; and the Bactrian, or 
two-humped camel (C. bactrianus), which inhabits Central Asia 
3.2 Grade –  
the defined parameters that segregate live animals for meat tra de into homogenous groups applied by 
market participants  based on weight, age, sex, body condition and body conformation.   
 
3.3 Sex –  
refers to whether an animal is male or female.  
3.4 Body condition  – 
overall body state of an animal assessed through visual observa tion taking into account fat and muscle 
deposition as it occurs in various places on the animal’s body 
 
3.5 Body condition score -  
Is the score assigned through visual appraisal of specific body  parts. The extent to which specific skeletal 
body parts {including; hips, hooks and pins, rump, shoulders, b ack (spinous processes of the thoracic 
vertebrae), ribs} are either hidden or smoothened by flesh or f at. The animals are thus categorized as 
excellent; good; fair and poor;  
 DKS 2774: PART 4: 2017  
 
 
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 3.6 Body conformation 
is the symmetry, size and shape of the various body regions of an animal relative to each other or the 
general appearance of the animal according to what is considere d a desirable appearance.  Features of an 
animal that comprise the ‘desirable appearance’ include 
a) Big frame or skeletal size of the animal—under this feature height and length as crucial elements to 
consider. Top quality animals are those that shall be tall with  large body frame; 
b) Good muscling— under this feature, thick and long muscling i s preferred; 
c) Good appearance of feet and legs—important features to consi der here shall include a long and 
straight (level) rump; long and broad loin; long and straight b ack; and well set and straight legs. 
Camel exhibiting a large heart girth in relation to overall bod y size (height and length of body) will 
attain a higher score. 
3.7 Conformation score 
This is a qualitative categorization of animal features based o n body frame, animal height and defects. They 
shall be described as excellent, good or fair.  3.8 Castrated male 
Male animals whose testicles have been rendered dysfunctional t hrough an approved procedure.   
3.9 Live weight :  
the weight of an animal before slaughter determined through an appropriate and acceptable method.  
3.10 Lordosis – 
 Excessive inward curvature of the spine.  
3.11 Kyphosis 
Excessive outward curvature of the spine. 
 
4.0 Grading specifications for camel 
4.1 Grading — Grading of camels shall be done in accordance to age and age class, sex, body Condition 
and body Conformation  
 
4.1.1. Age and age class:  
Camel age and age  categories shall be based on dentition or years of the animal. The categories 
shall be immature, mature, and o ld as shown in Table 1 below. 
 
Table 1: Age class and description  
Age class Description
Immature camels  Shall be 4-6 years ( up to  2 pairs of  permanent teeth  
Mature camels  Shall be 7-15 years (corner incisors erupt and developed, all p ermanent 
teeth present and in wear).  
Old camels shall be 16 years and above ( prominent teeth wear a nd loss of some  
©KEBS  DKS 2774: PART 4: 2017 
 
© KEBS 2017 — All rights reserved 
 
 teeth) 
 
 
4.1.2. Sex:  Camel sex categories shall be male or female.  
4.1.3. Body condition : The body condition score shall be scored as excellent, good, fair and poor . 
The body condition scoring shall be based on estimated hump fat  indicated by the size of the 
hump, the ribs, the transverse apophysis and the sacrotuberal l igament as shown in Table 2 
below. 
Table 2: Body condition classification and description 
 Excellent (Body condition score 4) - Hump over-
extended and rising more than 15% higher than 
chest depth.  Ribs i nvisible, transverse apophysis 
invisible and sacrotuberal ligament convex  
 Good (Body condition score 3)  -  H u m p  f u l l y  
developed and rising to 15% higher than chest 
depth. Ribs  i nvisible in front of the thorax, 
transverse apophysis slightly visible and 
sacrotuberal ligament flat to convex  
 Fair (Body condition score 2) - Hump with good 
development and rising to 10% higher than chest depth. Ribs  visible in front, transverse apophysis 
visible all along the back and sacrotuberal ligament flat  
 Poor (Body condition score 1)  H u m p  w i t h  
moderate development rising 5% higher than chest 
depth, but may also be leaning to one side. Ribs  
clearly visible (skin on bones), transverse 
apophysis clearly prominent and sacrotuberal 
ligament concave.  
 
4.1.4. Body conformation. The body conformation  shall be based on the symmetry, size and shape 
of the various body regions of camel relative to each other or the general appearance of the 
animal according to what is considered a desirable appearance. The camels shall be 
categorized as excellent, good, fair and poor as shown in Table  3.  
DKS 2774: PART 4: 2017  
 
 
  © KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved 
  
 
 Table 3: Body conforma tion and description 
Body conformation Description 
Excellent Shall be camels of good height (tall), with large fra me and long and straight rump, 
loin and back, large heart girth and straight legs; 
Good Shall be camels of medium height (not as tall as the one w ith excellent 
conformation), with medium frame, shorter but straight rump, lo in and back, medium 
heart girth and straight legs. 
Fair Shall be camels with short height with small frame, straig ht rump, loin and back, 
medium heart girth and straight legs and may have some defectiv e features such as 
lordosis or kyphosis, or feet and legs such as being post-legge d, buck-kneed, splay-
footed, sickle-hocked etc . 
 
4.2 Camel grades:  The camel grades shall be based on: age and age class, sex, bo dy condition and 
body conformation parameters as shown in table 4 below.  
Table 4: Grades of Camels  
GRADE AGE CLASS AGE SEX BODY CONDITION BODY CONFORMATION
I Immature 4-6 Male Excellent Excellent 
I Mature 7-10 Male/Female Excellent Excellent 
II Immature 4-6 Male/Female Good Good 
II Mature 7-15 Male/Female Good Good 
III Mature 7-15 Male/Female Fair Good 
III Immature 4-6 Male/Female Fair Good 
IV Mature 7-15 Male/Female Poor Poor 
IV Immature 4-6 Male/Female Poor Poor 
IV Old ≥ 16 Male/Female Poor Poor 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
Table 5 Pictorial Representation of the grades  
GRADE AGE CLASS PICTORIAL PRESENTATION 
1 Immature    
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  Mature  
11 
 Immature  
Mature  
111 Immature   
 Mature 
1V Immature  
 Mature  
V Old