In Arab countries like Oman, camel beauty contests are a big deal! Breeders from far and wide bring their best specimens for a chance to win the title of ‘most beautiful camel in the land,’ but in recent years, events have been plagued by scandals involving various cosmetic enhancements.
Last month, the 2026 Camel Beauty Show Festival in Al Musanaa, Omanaa, was rocked by the disqualification of 20 participants after veterinarians ruled that they had been artificially enhanced. Botox, lip fillers, silicone reshaping, and artificial hump inflation were some of the forbidden procedures discovered during the inspection.
Camel beauty contests are an important part of Arab tradition. For centuries, camel owners struggled to emphasize features like glossy coats, long, well-set necks, full lips, long eyelashes and firm humps through selective breeding and grooming, but in recent years, cosmetic enhancements have become very common.
In this year’s camel beauty contest, judges found that some animals had had their physical features acosmetically enhanced. Some camels had visible lip fillers, others had Botox to relax their facial muscles, and some participants had visible signs of silicone implants to reshape their noses. Other forbidden enhancemnets included hump inlation and growth hormone injections to increase muscle definition.
But why would someone turn to cosmetic procedures to enhance the look of their camels? Well, because there it real money to be won for the winner of camel beauty contests. Owners can make a fortune through sales and breeding rights, so the temptation to use forbidden tactics to increase thechances of winning is pretty high.
The ethical implications of cheating are clear enough, but veterinarians warn that cosmetic enhancements pose serious health risks to camels as well. Fillers can trigger chronic inflammation, hormone injections can cause imbalances and fertility problems, while Botox can interfere with chewing and drinking.
Interestingly, five years ago, we wrote about a similar controversy, when 43 camels were disqualified for various cosmetic enhancements.
