Authorities in Saudi Arabia have fined camel owners for "injecting them [camels] with harmful substances" in an attempt to make them look more beautiful.
The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture handed out hefty fines of 67,000 riyals ($17,865) to the animal owners after learning that they had violated a number of animal welfare laws.
The offenders were fined for "selling sick animals to customers, failing to provide proper living conditions for their animals, and carrying out illegal Botox procedures on camels to give them poutier lips," according to Gulf News.
It wasn't just the owners who were penalized...
Fines were also handed out to one pet shop for "displaying and selling sick animals in poor living conditions" and a truck driver for not taking appropriate safety measures while transporting pets and birds.
Injecting camels with cosmetic substances such as Botox is not a foreign concept in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this year, more than ten camels were disqualified from the "King Abdulaziz Camel Beauty Contest" because their trainers used Botox.
Other than getting their animals disqualified during the contest, the trainers are now barred from participating in the pageant for five years and also faced fines at the time.
"They use Botox for the lips, the nose, the upper lips, the lower lips and even the jaw," Ali Al Mazrouei, a regular attendee of the contest and son of a top Emirati camel breeder, told The National.
"It makes the head more inflated so when the camel comes, it’s like, 'Oh look at how big that head is. It has big lips, a big nose,'" he added.
During a camel beauty pageant, the animals are ranked based on their lips, cheeks, heads, and knees.