In yet another instance of unrealistic beauty standards pushing people to go to greater and greater extremes, over 40 camels have been disqualified from a beauty pageant after it was discovered that the animals had undergone various cosmetic procedures such as Botox in order to improve their odds.
According to AP, Saudi authorities recently conducted one of the largest ever crackdowns on breeders who had given their camels face lifts, inflated body parts using rubber bands, injections of Botox, filler, hormones and other alterations in an attempt to make them more attractive. All were set to compete for a $66 million prize as a part of the annual King Abdulaziz Camel Festival where judges determine the winner based on the size and appearance of the camel's head, neck, humps and more.
Per the Saudi Press Agency, pageant officials are looking to put an end to any sort of illegal performance enhancement even going so far as to use “specialized and advanced” technology to detect foul play. “The club is keen to halt all acts of tampering and deception in the beautification of camels,” the SPA's report read, adding that organizers would be looking to “impose strict penalties on manipulators.”
Given that the beauty pageant is the centerpiece of the monthlong festival, which is steeped in the country's rich Bedouin tradition and heritage, and there being so much money at stake it makes sense that organizers would want to ensure a level playing field, not to mention that these cosmetic adjustments can potentially result in significant harm to the animal as well.
According the New York Post, camels getting Botox is far from an isolated incident. A dozen dromedaries were disqualified in 2018 after a breeder was busted for using the injectable. No word as of yet as to how this will the impact the alpaca influencer community, stay tuned for more updates.
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