RIYADH: A high-stakes camel beauty pageant in Saudi Arabia hit with a cheating scandal after 43 camels were precluded for botox injections and other cosmetic enhancements.
The King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, an annual bedouin event, occurs in the desert of the northeast of Riyadh and attracts breeders from around the Gulf over the prize money of up to $66 million.
According to the official Saudi Press Agency, forty-three camels were disqualified after it was discovered they had been tampered with.
The enhancements had been made to make the camels' lips droopier and their humps more shapely which have been the key attributes in the pageant.
Also, in 2018, more than a dozen camels were banned; however, these 43 disqualifications were the largest since the beauty contest was inaugurated six years ago.
The news agency reported that tampering was uncovered when camels undergo examinations, such as X-rays, to detect cosmetic surgery that includes botox injection.
A festival official said the practice of cosmetic enhancements on camels had been animal abuse, and violaters had to face hefty fines and were banned from participating in future competitions.