We’ve all heard of athletes getting barred from competitions for using performance enhancers. But what happens when a camel gets Botox? They also get banned, according to recent reports rising out of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi officials have announced that 40 camels were disqualified from a beauty contest where breeders can compete for 250 million riyals ($66m) in prize money.
Held annually in Riyadh, the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival made headlines as some of the beasts had to be pulled out of the competition as reports claim that some had been subjected to a “form of tampering” involving Botox and other enhancing products and methods.
Willing to do anything to put their hands on the much sought-after reward, as per a report published by the Saudi Press Agency, a medical committee, which conducts thorough examinations on all participating camels, discovered that many had been touched up in order to improve the physical looks of their animals.
“The club is keen to halt all acts of tampering and deception in the beautification of camels” the SPA report claimed, adding organisers would also “impose strict penalties on manipulators”.
This, of course, is one of the biggest clampdowns in the kingdom’s history.