CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Get off that camel!

Turns out the state Fish and Game Department’s camel regulations don’t allow camel rides. It became an issue last fall at the Deerfield Fair when a conservation officer stopped public camel rides – to the chagrin of a Massachusetts company that had no idea camels were considered wildlife in New Hampshire.

That means a camel permit can only be granted to those who qualify as wildlife exhibitors – and no public contact is allowed.

After the Deerfield Fair incident, Fish and Game officials decided their authority over camels went too far and it was time to change the rules.

But not without public input.

The public can comment on proposed changes to the camel rules at a hearing today at 10 a.m. at Fish and Game headquarters on Hazen Drive. The department also will accept written comments for the next 10 days.

The beasts already are monitored by the U.S Department of Agriculture and anyone seeking to import or keep a camel needs a federal permit and appropriate health certificates, said Fish and Game Sgt. Bruce Bonenfant. Permits from Fish and Game seemed redundant.

“That’s why we’re getting rid of them,” he said. The proposed rule change would place camels in the category of “non-controlled” animals, similar to most pets, he said.

If the rule change goes through, “you can have them like you do a ferret,” he said. Not that he expects a rush of new camel owners to result.

“I don’t think we’re going to have a big call for camels in people’s backyards,” he predicted.

How camels fell under Fish and Game regulation remains something of a mystery. The rules are out of step with most states, which consider them domesticated, not wild, animals, Bonenfant said.

Not that camels are completely unfamiliar to New Hampshire. Bonenfant said he has issued permits that allow groups such as circuses to show the animals.

Fish and Game also takes up the issue of falconry at its public hearing Friday. In this case, the department is seeking to reinstate rules that recently expired, Bonenfant said.

AP-ES-08-04-05 1559EDT