Botox-Using Camels Kicked Out of Beauty Pageant and Lose $66M Prize

Getty Images

By IE Staff

First Published: 9:47 AM PST, December 9, 2021

The scandal of all scandals to hit the camel beauty pageant arena.

Camels have been kicked out of a Saudi Arabian beauty pageant after being caught using Botox, CBS News reported.

Authorities in the Middle Eastern country conducted the biggest-ever crackdown on camel beauty contestants and found that some of the animals had received Botox injections and other artificial touch-ups, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Wednesday, according to CBS News.

Botox is a banned substance from the competition, according to New York Post.

Over 40 camels were disqualified from the annual pageant and have lost out on the coveted $66 million prize at the Abdulaziz Camel Festival, near Riyadh, the New York Post reported.

The camels are judged on the shape of their heads, necks, humps, dress and postures, the New York Post reported.

Camel breeders had reportedly stretched out the lips and noses, pumped the dromedary’s muscles full of hormones and tried to make their heads bigger with Botox, according to the New York Post.

“The club is keen to halt all acts of tampering and deception in the beautification of camels,” the Saudi Press Agency said in a statement.

The Abdulaziz Camel Festival is a month-long event and kicked off earlier this month, NBC News reported.

The festival’s mission is to preserve the animal’s role in the kingdom’s Bedouin tradition and heritage, NBC News reported.