The beauty of contestants in one pageant is being tarnished after it was discovered that they were using Botox to appear prettier.
But it wasn’t a pageant of women in gowns, or men lifting weights.
Instead, it was camels — yes, camels — whose perceived beauty is being called into question.
About 40 camels were disqualified from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, The Associated Press reported.
The festival invites camels to compete for $66 million in prize money, with judges evaluating the shape of a camel’s head, neck, humps, posture and even dress.
To make sure their camels are deemed the most beautiful, breeders will inject the animals with Botox, perform facelifts and carry out other cosmetic alterations, despite these moves being against the rules, the AP reported.
Now judges say they’re using “specialized and advanced” technology to determine if camels have used hormones to bulk up their muscles, Botox to inflate their lips and heads, and fillers — or even rubber bands — to inflate body parts.
BBC News said the camels were taken to a hall where they were examined by specialists, then scanned with X-ray and 3D ultrasound machines. Genetic samples were also taken.
In all, 27 camels were disqualified for having stretched body parts and 16 were kicked out for having injections.
In 2018, 14 camels were banned for similar reasons, BBC News reported at the time.