A camel beauty pageant in Saudi Arabia was at the center of controversy last week.
“Forty-three camels have been disqualified for cheating,” the Saudi SPA news agency reported Thursday.
These camels had undergone injections… of Botox.
With prizes of up to $ 66 million (€ 58.5 million), the King Abdulaziz Festival, an annual meeting rooted in Bedouin tradition, welcomes breeders from all over the Gulf.
The shape and size of the lips, neck and hump are the main beauty criteria for deciding the camels at the event, which is held until mid-January in a desert northeast of Riyadh.
X-ray screening
But dozens of camels were therefore wiped out after receiving Botox injections.
The cheating was detected following the physical and medical examination of the camels, in particular during their passage with X-rays.
This is not the first time that the contest organizers have disqualified camels that have undergone Botox injections or cosmetic surgery.
But this edition has the highest number of disqualifications recorded since the competition was launched six years ago.
In 2018, 14 camels were disqualified.
Animal abuse
"The authorities want the camels to be presented in their natural form," said a festival official, who wished to remain anonymous.
According to him, cosmetic operations undergone by animals are considered abuse.
"Violators face heavy penalties and will not be allowed to participate in future competitions," he added.
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