However, the prize pot is substantially lower than the one on offer at the King Abdulaziz festival, at just $30,000 (£20m).

Last January, the Royal Camel Corps in Oman held a similar beauty pageant in which a camel named al-Dhabi was declared the victor. His owner accepted a vehicle as first prize, according to a local newspaper, the Oman Observer.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced some pageant organisers to impose restrictions, with the Royal Camel Corps only allowing camel owners and technical staff to take part in last year’s event.

According to the National, an Emirati newspaper, some camel owners are opposed to the ban on cosmetic procedures and have defended them on aesthetic grounds. 

Ali Al Mazrouei, a prominent breeder, told the newspaper that Botox could even be used to soothe out a camel’s jaw.

“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 said.