Saudi Arabia hosts first camel safety conference, warns of Botox and steroid use

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday launched what it claimed is the first-ever international conference on the safety of camels.

The conference, held in Riyadh and organised by the Saudi government's Camel Club, looked at ways to best protect the humped creatures, who are often injected with hormones and toxins for contests.

Representatives from camel-hosting countries Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and the UAE participated in the conference, as did Germany and the US.

Participants delivered papers on topics including the harmful effects of Botox use on camels entered into beauty contests and the injection of steroids for racing camels.

A set of recommendations on how best to look after camels was produced through the conference, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency reported.

Conference participants urged relevant organisations to develop ways of detecting rule-breaking enhancements, SPA said.

They also called for an awareness campaign to be developed regarding the harmful effects of steroid and Botox use.

With camel beauty and racing contests often coming with prize money running into millions of dollars, the temptation for camel owners to enhance their animals' performance can be too tempting to miss.