Pageant organizers disqualified twenty camels for prohibited cosmetic enhancements.
The contest in the Omani city of Al-Musannah – the 2026 Camel Beauty Show Festival – is on the hunt for the most beautiful camel. Recently, organizers discovered some modifications in the competing animals, similar to what fans of human beauty pageants would recognize. Twenty camels had enhancements like Botox, hyaluronic acid, dermal fillers, or even silicone implants.
“Hyaluronic acid injections were used to fill out the iconic pouty lips. Dermal fillers and silicone for that statuesque nose profile. Botox to soften the face into an expression of eternal, serene superiority. Silicone wax for inflating the hump. Hormones to shape muscle definition that would put even a cross-fitting camel to shame,” reports Tanya Akim for Forbes.
“We want to stop all attempts at manipulation and cheating in camel beautification,” declared representatives from the Camel Club and the Oman Camel Racing Federation, promising “strict penalties for manipulators.”
Camel breeders were getting their animals dosed with hormones from veterinarians who were previously specialists in racehorses.
