(Animals) 43 camels disqualified from beauty contest for use of botox and other 'mani[CENSORED]tions'

[Askor lml]

Organizers of a po[CENSORED]r camel beauty contest in Saudi Arabia have disqualified 43 contestants after cracking down on botox injections and other forms of "mani[CENSORED]tion" by breeders.

The 40-day King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, located about 100 kilometers northeast of the capital Riyadh, opened in early December. In their sixth year, breeders are competing for more than $ 66 million in prizes, according to the Saudi state media outlet Saudi Press Agency (SPA), so the stakes are high.

Unscrupulous breeders have been accused of using a number of methods to make their camels more likely to win, such as injecting silicone and fillers, and inflating body parts with rubber bands to improve their appearance, reports SPA.

This year, organizers have dealt with 147 cases of tampering, the highest number since the festival began. Forty-three contestants were disqualified.

Marzouk Al-Natto, spokesman for the festival's legal committee, said that breeders who are found mani[CENSORED]ting have to pay fines that vary according to the infraction, reports SPA.

For example, the fine for injecting fillers, botox or hormones can be as high as 100,000 riyals (US $ 27,000) per camel, while braiding, tail docking or dyeing the camel carries a fine of 30,000 riyals (US $ 8,000).

To detect tampering, camels are examined both physically and clinically, using devices such as X-ray machines.

Winning camel owners receive cash prizes and recognition means they can sell the animals at higher prices.

Rare camels are big business in Saudi Arabia. An estimated 1.5 million of the animals are protected by their owners using microchips, according to SPA.

Also, camels are an important part of Saudi culture. Animals are well adapted to life in deserts such as the Arabian Desert, much of which is within the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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