More than 40 camels have been disqualified from a Saudi Arabian beauty competition after organizers banned Botox injections and other cosmetic changes.
The King Abdulaziz Camel Festival began earlier this month in the desert, northeast of Riyadh. It welcomes the world’s most beautiful camel to compete for £50 million in prize money.
The winner is determined by the shape of the camels’ heads, necks, humps, clothing, and postures. Botox treatments, facelifts, and other artificial enhancements to make the camels more appealing are beyond the pale.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) stated on Wednesday that judges at the month-long festival are tightening their grip on artificially modified camels. They are employing “specialized and advanced” technology to identify tampering.
Authorities revealed this year that dozens of camel breeders had stretched their lips and noses. They used hormones to strengthen muscles, injected Botox into their heads and lips to make them bigger. Then, they inflated body parts with rubber bands and used fillers to relax their features.
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“The club is keen to halt all acts of tampering and deception in the beautification of camels,” the SPA report said. Adding that organizers would “impose strict penalties on manipulators”.
The camel beauty contest is the centerpiece of the huge carnival. It also includes camel races, sales, and other events that attract thousands of dromedaries.
Even as the oil-rich country plows ahead with modernizing mega-projects, the event aims to retain the camel’s position in the kingdom’s Bedouin history and legacy.
Camel breeding is a multibillion-dollar business, and one can likewise find analogous events throughout the region.