We’ve definitely heard of beauty pageants for animals such as dogs and cats, but did you know that an annual beauty contest for camels also exists in Saudi Arabia?
The beauty contest recently made headlines as according to CNN, 43 camels were disqualified for having Botox injections and other forms of “tampering” by breeders.
Botox injections, face lifts and other cosmetic alterations to make the camels more attractive are strictly prohibited. Jurors decide the winner based on the shape of the camels’ heads, necks, humps, dress and postures.
Camel breeders compete for more than $66 million (RM278 million) in prize money.
This year, there were 147 cases of tampering which was also the largest number ever since the festival first started.
Authorities discovered dozens of breeders had stretched out the lips and noses of camels, used hormones to boost their muscles, injecting their heads and lips with Botox to make them bigger, inflating their body parts with rubber bands and using fillers to relax their faces.
On why breeders resort to tampering with their camels, regular attendee Ali Al Mazrouei said that,
“It makes the head more inflated so when the camel comes it’s like, ‘Oh look at how big is that head is. It has big lips, a big nose’”.
Marzouk Al-Natto, spokesman for the festival’s legal committee, said that breeders found to be tampering have to pay fines which vary according to the offense.
The fine for injecting fillers, Botox or hormones can be as much as 100,000 riyals (RM112,584) per camel, while braiding, cutting the tail or dying the camel incurs a fine of 30,000 riyals (RM33,775).
In order to detect tampering, the camels are examined both physically and clinically, using devices such as X-ray machines and sonar devices.
Rare camels are big business in Saudi Arabia. An estimated 1.5 million of the animals are protected by their owners using microchips.
Would you ever go to watch a camel beauty pageant? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: WATCH: Monkey Casually Walks In To Barber Shop For A Beard Trim
