Saudi fines vet $8,000 for using ‘human cosmetics’ on camels

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has fined a veterinarian SAR30,000 ($7,997) for using human cosmetics on animals.

The exact nature of the crime was not specified but there have been several instances reported this year of camels being injected with botox to improve their performance in beauty contests.

The ministry fined five people SAR67,000 ($17,864) just over a month ago for “performing irregular beauties by tightening the lips and injecting them with harmful substances to change the forms of those animals”.

Read: Saudi fines five for animal abuse, injecting camels with botox

The director general of the Department of Health and Veterinary Control at the ministry, Dr Ali Al-Duwairj, said that the latest violation included the “veterinarian abuse of the camel, and use of human cosmetic materials prohibited to use [on] animals, according to Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The ministry said it would not hesitate to punish anyone who is proven to abuse animals and called on vets to avoid abusive practices.

Cash prices as high as SAR20m ($5.33m) for each category have led some camel owners to cheat in the kingdom’s camel beauty contests.

Earlier this year, 12 camels were disqualified from a beauty contest at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival after they were found to have received injections to enhance their pout.