More than 40 beauties have been disqualified from a beauty contest in Saudi Arabia for using Botox and other synthetic cosmetics.
The animals were excluded from the famous King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, which began earlier this month, and which invites breeders of the country’s most beautiful camels to compete against each other. The prize money for the winner is approximately 58 million euros.
According to the Associated Press news agency, the jury decides the winner based on the shape of the head and neck, humps (bulges on the back), clothing and the position of the camel, including Botox injections, face-lifts and other cosmetic changes to making the animals prettier are strictly prohibited by competition organizers.
This year, as a result of stricter inspections against cheating and animal abuse, judges at the festival in the middle of the desert discovered that dozens of breeders used hormones to stimulate camel muscles and injected Botox into the lips, among other cosmetic procedures.
“We want to prevent all actions that would alter the beauty of the animals,” the organizers of the event reinforced, in a statement stressing the expected “heavy fines” for those who do not comply.
The camel beauty contest is part of a huge celebration in the country, which also includes races and events in which these animals participate. The goal is to preserve the camel’s role in the traditions and cultural heritage of an oil-rich kingdom with major modernization projects on the horizon.
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