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Udderly gorgeous! Cow wins Spanish beauty pageant after impressing judges with its 'comely horns and charming personality'
A cow has won a beauty pageant in Spain after her 'bright and charming personality made her a favourite from the outset'.
Boneca, a five-year-old bovine, won this year's Miss Vaca which is watched by more people in the area than the Eurovision Song Contest.
The heifer is said to be a Jennifer Lopez fan and one for lively festivals, as well as cuddles from her owner Tamara Sobrado.
While Spanish newspaper ABC complimented her 'charming personality', Ms Sobrado said Boneca, who is a 1100kg Rubia Gallega cow, is 'gentle'.
She also highlighted 'how she stands out with her horns and head. Anyone who knows anything about cows will always stare at her'.
Despite starting in the green and lush region of Galicia, the pageant phenomena has gripped the country.
It started out as an amusing segment in local variety show on TV but is now the latest cultural zeitgeist.
Debates were waged online about who should win, with the closest contender being Linda from Lugo.
'Gallega is the fans' favourite but Linda has my vote,' one user said.
Yep, I agree - Linda's features are much more refined than Gallaga's!' someone replied.
One user joked: 'Are you even European if you don't have a cow beauty contest?'
'Now I understand the point of the beauty contest wow,' another added.
Linda was from the heartland of Rubia Gallega and was on a winning streak from the judges, with 12 top prizes since 2006.
But in the end, Boneca triumphed both for herself but also bringing awareness to her breed which is often revered for its meat quality.
Superman-actor Henry Cavill reportedly bought 20 of Boneca's breed after speaking out about how incredible the meat was.
After she collected her prize, 'she ran for the truck because she wanted to go home and eat' Ms Sobrado said.
Miss Vaca is not the only animal beauty pageant contest to have made headlines.
A series of pageants on the Arabian Peninsula have celebrated the beauty of the dromedary, or one-humped camel.
Interest in camel beauty competitions has grown since the boom of oil production during the 20th century, as camels became associated with status and wealth.
Pageant contestants are housed away from the sun and fed milk, wheat, honey and dates before the competition.
During the contest itself, a handful of judges appointed by Omani Camel Racing Federation inspect the camels, consult with each other, and rank the animals.
The whole scoring process is qualitative, and at no point do the judges write a score or explain the reasoning behind their decisions.
More than 20 body measurements are taken across the head, upper body, front and rear, as well as general appearance and colour. Each of these is scored to give a maximum total of 100 points.
In 2017, some 30,000 camels competed in the King Abul Aziz Camel Festival in Saudi Arabia, which has a prize pool of around AU$45 million.
