A Dozen Camels Disqualified From Saudi Beauty Pageant Over Botox Injections
Some pageant contestants hit a hump in the road this week. That is, a camel beauty contest in Saudi Arabia disqualified a dozen camels for receiving Botox injections to make them more attractive.
Saudi media reported that a veterinarian was caught performing plastic surgery on the camels a few days before the pageant, according to UAE's The National. In addition to the injections, the clinic was surgically reducing the size of the animals' ears to make them appear more delicate.
"They use Botox for the lips, the nose, the upper lips, the lower lips and even the jaw," Ali Al Mazrouei, a regular at such festivals and the son of a prominent Emirati breeder, told the newspaper. "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.' "
Real money is at stake: About $57 million is awarded to winners of the contests and camel races, The National reports, with more than $31.8 million in prizes for just the pageants.
Also at The New York Times, Reuters, and Newsweek.
Check out the world's tallest camel
(Score: 4, Funny) by looorg on Thursday January 25 2018, @02:08PM (28 children)
Camel beauty pageants ... looks at picture ... oookey. I don't know much about camels but is having a big head, big lips and big nose really attractive feature(s)? I wonder if there are those that just like (a) big hump(s).
Someone at least put a lot of thought into it if they created some infographics for it.
So Botox just isn't enough then. They are going for surgical options to. This really is like human beauty contests.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 25 2018, @02:34PM
Just imagine, those thick, moist lips smothering your cock. Either set of lips.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Immerman on Thursday January 25 2018, @02:47PM (25 children)
Context is everything. Plenty of people consider horses beautiful animals, while simultaneously considering "horse-faced" an insult.
Camels are... not exactly what most of the world considers beautiful animals, but within their native habitats they're pretty much the best work animal you could hope for, which leads to affection and an appreciation of cosmetic qualities (e.g. "a face only a mother could love").
And then you get into pageants - one of the more ridiculous and destructive human endeavors. They're what took a large number of solid working dog breeds and turned them into fragile, inbred creatures plagued by genetic predispositions to a wide range of diseases, as one example. And of course once you make a game out of something, people will immediately start figuring out how to cheat. Especially if there's a prize to be won.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Grishnakh on Thursday January 25 2018, @03:41PM (24 children)
There are good reasons to have fragile dog breeds: "solid working dog breeds" just don't make for great pets in many instances, so many dog breeds have been specifically bred to be better pets, mainly by making them smaller and have nicer temperaments. You can't easily keep a German Shepherd in a small urban apartment, but a toy poodle works out there. Of course, the diseases are a problem, but you're going to get that any time you have purebred "breeds" of anything, and use selective breeding to accomplish this. The best solution is to just abandon the idea of having a dog as a pet, and get a cat instead. Cats don't generally have problems with genetic diseases like dogs, because only a very tiny number of owners have purebreds; most people just adopt a cat from the shelter, and there's no real "breed". And cats don't need all the maintenance that dogs do, like walking, picking up their poop, etc. And only a really disturbed or deviant person wouldn't think kittens are cute; there's a reason cat pictures are so popular on the internet, and dog pictures aren't so much.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday January 25 2018, @04:42PM (19 children)
I was considering more health and durability than size - inbreeding has done horrible things to show dog breeds. And they've been popular enough, long enough, that their inbred weaknesses have spread to a lot of "mutts" as well. Cats have indeed gotten off comparatively easy.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Grishnakh on Thursday January 25 2018, @05:15PM (18 children)
Breeding attitudes for cats and dogs seem to be almost diametrically opposite. In cats, only a tiny number of owners care about their cat being purebred, or buy from a breeder; most people just adopt them from shelters. No one says "my cat is a [breed]" or even "my cat is a [breed] mix", except that small number of purebred owners. But with dogs, every owner seems to know what breed their dog is or if it's a mix, and if so what breeds it's mixed from. And "poor breeding" is always blamed when a dog has a temperament problem. The pit bull lovers in particular are always quick to blame "bad breeding" any time there's a news story about some vicious pit bull killing someone or ripping some child's face off. When was the last time you heard anyone complain about bad cat breeding? Tons of cats breed ferally, their kittens get picked up by shelters, then adopted out and make perfectly fine pets, and no one thinks anything of it, and there's no association between "poor breeding" and bad temperaments in cats (if anything, it's the opposite, some breeds are considered to have behavior oddities).
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Thursday January 25 2018, @05:25PM (12 children)
Cats kind of always have had what we wanted from them - being good mousers. Dogs ended up being specifically bread for bird hunting, hog hunting, foxes, badgers, guarding/protecting, herding... Because the thousands of years already got us the breeds we wanted people might think it bad to ruin all that work we did in molding them to our preferences. 10/05/2015EQUIP_10YREQUIP_10YR
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday January 25 2018, @06:58PM (10 children)
Dogs ended up being specifically bread for bird hunting, hog hunting, foxes, badgers, guarding/protecting, herding... Because the thousands of years already got us the breeds we wanted people might think it bad to ruin all that work we did in molding them to our preferences.
How many people these days need an animal to help with bird, hog, fox, or badger hunting, or herding? Virtually none in the US; those things aren't really hunted here (maybe wild turkeys, and a few other birds), mainly it's just deer. City dwellers (most of the population) doesn't do any of that stuff. As for herding, no one needs to do that here; that's useful for sheep, but we don't have sheep here, just cows and chickens. I've never heard of using dogs for herding cows, and chickens are kept caged in industrial facilities these days. As for guarding and protecting, that usually leads to dogs that are aggressive and bite someone wrongly, which leads to a costly lawsuit.
Face it: we don't live the way humans did thousands of years ago. And most people don't have problems with mice either. (I do have a cat that wiped out all the crickets in my basement though.)
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Thursday January 25 2018, @07:35PM (4 children)
What I was trying to get at is that I can't tell the difference between cats, cats to me all look pretty much the same. But I can tell the difference between an irish setter and a german shepard. At this point we don't really have the traditional human needs for a dog, but those differences already exist and humans like different things. It is a whole lot easier to talk about how great your registered dog is certified to never have seizures or one of various other genetic illnesses, than a cat. There are some specific breeds of cats that people are interested in, but they tend to look quite a bit different than your standard stray. I don't know if i have ever known anyone who bought a cat but I know a lot of people who take a cat in that just showed up at their house.
Maybe genetically we have a stronger tie to certain breeds of dogs but I think we definitely have a greater genetic affinity in general to dogs than we do to cats. Dogs we keep around because they are humanity's companion through this shitty world, cats we have around because they hooked us on a parasite two thousand years ago.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday January 25 2018, @08:29PM (3 children)
What I was trying to get at is that I can't tell the difference between cats, cats to me all look pretty much the same.
Maybe that's because you haven't been to any fancy cat shows. If you just go to the pound or the local pet store that has shelter cats up for adoption, yeah, they all look pretty similar: most of them are some variant of American Shorthair, aka "tabby" (I'm assuming you're American here). The differences you'll see will be pretty much superficial, just the hair color and patterns. Some will be black, some calico (female only), some other colors. Maybe you'll see some "tuxedo" cats.
Go to a cat show and you'll see all kinds of other breeds: colorpoints, Siamese, Burmese, Ocicats, Maine Coon cats (they're really huge), etc.
The reason you think they're all the same is because most people, as I said before, don't have fancy breeds, they just have shelter cats, and they're all "mutts" that are considered to be part of the "American shorthair" "breed", because that's what's dominant and typical in North America. This just isn't the case for dogs, where people usually get them from pet stores, which get them from breeders, who work to keep the bloodlines "pure" and controlled. That's the point I was making.
but those differences already exist and humans like different things.
Sure, but then why is it that dog owners care so much about what breed their dog is, and will actively try to get a dog with a certain breed, whereas cat owners are happy to just adopt a cat as long as it acts nice at the adoption center, and don't worry too much about what it looks like?
It is a whole lot easier to talk about how great your registered dog is certified to never have seizures or one of various other genetic illnesses, than a cat.
Right, because typical "mutt" cats don't have these problems usually. In fact, they typically live longer than most dogs, especially purebred dogs which seem to die around 12yo. A plain ol' cat can easily live past 15 or even 20.
There are some specific breeds of cats that people are interested in, but they tend to look quite a bit different than your standard stray.
Exactly what I was getting at. Not a lot of cat owners have these cats.
I don't know if i have ever known anyone who bought a cat but I know a lot of people who take a cat in that just showed up at their house.
Again, exactly my point!!! I've known tons of people with cats, but very few had some fancy purebred cat. My sister is really the only one offhand I can think of who has purebreds. Everyone else just adopted something from the shelter, including myself, and I've had cats that just showed up too. How many dog owners do that? None.
Maybe genetically we have a stronger tie to certain breeds of dogs but I think we definitely have a greater genetic affinity in general to dogs than we do to cats.
Sounds plausible, but I don't think so.
I think it's because dog people and cat people are fundamentally different types of people. Dog people are pretentious and vain and like to show off their fancy, prized possession, similar to people who buy exotic cars (except that exotic cars don't require constant live-in maintenance, you can just park them in the garage), whereas cat people just want some friendly company at home and aren't that picky about exactly what their furry friend looks like, and don't want a pet that needs an inordinate amount of maintenance.
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Thursday January 25 2018, @08:53PM (2 children)
Such defensiveness, maybe you should get that Toxoplasma gondii checked.
From wikipedia
From the huffington post - https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/07/cats-facts-jerks_n_4520552.html [huffingtonpost.com]
Cats - Not once ever.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachik%C5%8D [wikipedia.org]
You may like having an owner, I like having a best friend
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday January 25 2018, @09:03PM
You like having a pet that attacks other animals? From the Wikipedia page for Akitas
"Akitas tend to be less tolerant of dogs of the same sex. For this reason, Akitas, unless highly socialized, are not generally well-suited for off-leash dog parks." Also, "An akita fatally injured an Arizona woman who was trying to rehabilitate it."
Sounds like an animal that has no business in an urban setting.
As for parasites, that's something you have to worry about with any animal if you don't practice proper hygiene. Dogs have worms.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday January 26 2018, @01:07AM
Dogs aren't best friends, they're loyal, almost worshipful slaves. I loved dogs as a kid, but as I matured I found the relationship increasingly disturbing.
Cats can certainly be the opposite, and most will indeed make you their servants if you let them - but nothing says you have to let them. Set down reasonable boundaries, stick to them, and you can have a rewarding relationship with an animal that genuinely enjoys your company (and/or the comforts you provide) rather than being genetically programmed to adore you no matter what.
(Score: 2) by t-3 on Thursday January 25 2018, @09:48PM
It's also illegal to use dogs for hunting in (most of?) the US, except for some pointer type stuff.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 26 2018, @12:29AM
> Face it: we don't live the way humans did thousands of years ago.
Hi - Try tens of years ago, not "thousands".
And yes, that's very little time. Dogs are bred because they get along with us better than cats, and are stronger than cats.
(Score: 2) by darnkitten on Friday January 26 2018, @07:37PM (2 children)
'Round here, working dogs routinely herd cattle, sheep, occasionally chickens, and, I've even heard tell, children.
But then you get the idjits who take perfectly good working dogs and, instead of training them and allowing them to do the work they were bred for (or a reasonable substitution), they tie the poor beasts up, confine them to small yards, or worse yet, let them run loose.
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Friday January 26 2018, @08:54PM (1 child)
My parents have two Irish Setters, when my kids were younger they liked to herd them around. When the dogs were younger we took them out to a large farm to run and play, they had fun trying to herd cows and sheep. Cows with no success, but sheep with moderate.. It was interesting seeing how they picked it up without ever having watched another dog do it.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by darnkitten on Tuesday January 30 2018, @05:45PM
Yes--some breeds of dog were literally bred to herd, just as some are bred to be ratters, trackers, pack hunters, etc.
On herding cattle: I understand (through indirect observation and anecdote, rather than personal experience, so I may be wrong, here) that cow-herding dogs tend to be more aggressive types than are needed to control sheep.
(Score: 2) by darnkitten on Friday January 26 2018, @07:43PM
--Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday January 25 2018, @05:27PM (4 children)
It's kind of cheating, because the baseline behavior for a cat would be considered terrible upbringing in a dog.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday January 25 2018, @06:51PM (3 children)
How so?
The baseline behavior for a cat is to simply ignore you.
Terrible upbringing in a dog means the dog attacks you, and depending on the size and power of the dog, you either die or need surgery, or if it's a tiny dog just stitches. Not quite as bad behavior in a dog is to bark for hours on end, causing neighbors to call the police with noise complaints in some jurisdictions.
For a cat to physically attack you, it either has to have rabies, or it's been badly abused, or it just doesn't like you and you're not leaving it alone so it swats you to get you to go away. They're not always the most affectionate or interested pets (some are, some aren't), but if you don't fuck with them, they're generally extremely safe. Dogs attacking people and other animals, however, isn't uncommon at all, and many of them are specifically bred for it (such as pit bulls).
(Score: 2) by t-3 on Thursday January 25 2018, @09:46PM (2 children)
Never had a tomcat? I used to have one, he would shit on top of the fridge or kitchen cabinets and try to mountain lion jump onto your back. He would wait for people walking by so that he could get at their feet and legs. He even learned how to open the back door and screen door so he could get outside and line birds up on the porch.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday January 25 2018, @10:56PM (1 child)
I've had quite a few cats, and I will say that stray or formerly-feral male cats can indeed have real behavior problems, especially if they're unneutered or not neutered until adulthood. I'd avoid those if possible. Females are usually better, and any cat that was neutered early and had human contact early enough in its life is usually fine. I used to have a female cat that was a trapped feral cat, probably around 6 months old when we got it, but definitely not a year old; that cat had behavior problems and did get better over time, but was never very affectionate. Just remember that the later a cat is socialized with humans, the worse it's going to be, in general. And since a cat reaches adulthood in only 1 year, you don't have a lot of time.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday January 26 2018, @01:13AM
I have to agree. Cats are really only half-domesticated, and mostly need to be acclimated to people and houses from a young age to blunt the "wild animal" instincts. Not sure that dogs are necessarily that much different in that respect - a dog that grows to adulthood feral will generally not make a good pet, and is far more dangerous than a similarly feral cat.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 25 2018, @06:34PM (2 children)
Cats bring disease. Via the long-term brain effects of cat-transmitted disease, we get significant amounts of car accidents and schizophrenia.
Dogs are better.
Pale animals are tamer than dark ones. No kidding, and we even know the mechanism. (migration of neural stem cells if I remember right)
Labrador retrievers are relatively nice to begin with. They also have short hair, which makes them much less likely to get disgusting.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 25 2018, @11:07PM
Racist scum detected
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday January 26 2018, @01:20AM
Are you sure it's not "splotchiness" you're thinking of rather than paleness? (Think cows, the iconic "spot", etc - patterns that don't occur in the wild.) Splotchiness is caused by the same developmental hormones that cause infant mammals to remain receptive to unfamiliar stimuli for a longer period, and be less defensive as adults, and the neural stem cell thing sounds familiar as well. The Russian speed-domesticated foxes demonstrate the same splotchiness - in fact I think that's what helped researchers zero in on the precise genes that change it.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Thursday January 25 2018, @08:41PM
Nobody has a cat for a pet, but rather the cat decided to keep the human around as one :)
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 26 2018, @10:13AM
How about an African?
They prefer their camels like they prefer their women and goats, after all :)
(Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 25 2018, @02:45PM (6 children)
A camel beauty contest? In Saudi Arabia? Do they not realize the optics of this? Do they know that the reason camels are called the ships of the desert is because they are full of Arab seamen/semen? Does the winner go home to meet the in-laws of one lucky towelhead?
These are the important questions.
(Score: 3, Funny) by DutchUncle on Thursday January 25 2018, @02:54PM
(Score: 4, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday January 25 2018, @03:59PM (1 child)
Camels don't wear burkas.
They have to use what they have for beauty contests. While sheep may be easier to hold down and won't resist as much, the climate is probably unsuitable for sheep.
The people who rely on government handouts and refuse to work should be kicked out of congress.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by bob_super on Thursday January 25 2018, @05:19PM
Goats are the universal low-maintenance solution. And when you're done doing a beauty contest between the baby goats, they will quickly grow up to either very tasty or good milk machines.
(Score: 2, Funny) by DECbot on Thursday January 25 2018, @05:18PM (2 children)
If you're soft and squeamish about ethnicity and racial jokes, do not read. It's funny because it is absurd, not because it is true.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 25 2018, @06:42PM (1 child)
Mohammed said it was OK to relieve your sexual urge inside a goat or sheep or donkey.
US soldiers in Iraq and Iran have seen it numerous times. There are many videos of it, typically via night-vision from a helicopter. More recently, a refugee in Germany was caught with a donkey in a petting zoo.
I don't know about camels... that sounds dangerous. There is other weirdness with camels though: drinking camel urine is commonly done.
People ride camels of course, and one would likely want lessons.
So, in conclusion: MOSTLY TRUE at minimum
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Friday January 26 2018, @02:59AM
I've been there, it's a beautiful country. And many people do drink the pee. They drink the camel pee, that's their medicine. We say laughter is the best medicine. But they say it's camel pee.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by DutchUncle on Thursday January 25 2018, @02:51PM
It's a little less stupid-sounding if this is really about judging for best-of-breed, and could lead to rankings for stud fees and offspring prices.
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Thursday January 25 2018, @06:19PM
Due to claims of sexual harassment, Donald Trump was NOT invited to be a judge this year
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 3, Interesting) by mrchew1982 on Thursday January 25 2018, @07:18PM (1 child)
They perform plastic surgery on their camels and yet prefer their women to cover their faces?
(Score: 2) by gawdonblue on Thursday January 25 2018, @10:09PM
Being normal (i.e. like us), they would of course perform plastic surgery on their women's faces but cover their camels. The problem with our approach is that occasionally a couple of toes show.