Happy Hump Day: 12 Contestants Disqualified from Saudi Arabia's Camel Beauty Contest for Using Botox

The standard for camel beauty is getting ridiculous

Published on January 24, 2018 12:41 PM

SAUDI-CAMEL-FESTIVAL — Photo: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty

Whatcha you going to do with all these humps? Not use Botox.

Saudi Arabia’s annual camel beauty contest hit a snag when officials discovered at least 12 of the animals were injected with Botox by their owners to make them look more attractive, reports Reuters.

After deciding that chemical enhancements didn’t hold water in their competition, officials decided to disqualify the camels who went under the syringe before the competition.

Each year, dozens of camels are paraded around a track and rated based on their looks. With a vision of the camel standard of beauty in their heads, judges award the top honors to dromedaries with the ideal lip, cheek, head and knee size.

“The camel is a symbol of Saudi Arabia,” chief judge of the show, Fawzan al-Madi, told Reuters. “We used to preserve it out of necessity, now we preserve it as a pastime.”

The contest is part of a month-long camel festival in the country, celebrating the animal that has provided Saudi Arabia with food, companionship and transportation. The event also includes camel races, auctions — where prized, contest-winning animals can go for millions — a petting zoo, sand sculptures and more camel-adjacent activities.

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Keep a look out for a camel festival near you. Saudi Arabia is dedicated to growing the event, starting the royally-decreed Camel Club, in hopes that the entire country and eventually the globe will come together to celebrate the beauty of Botox-free camels.