Ornamental chicken breeding clubs have emerged in Indonesia, Thailand, North America and even European countries such as the UK and France. Malaysia is however the epicenter of this cultural phenomenon. These chickens are prized for their build, size, behavior and showmanship by their owners and competitions or beauty contests as they are often described are held almost every week in at least one village in Malaysia. Judges sit around a square table inspecting each chicken for a few minutes trying to determine a champion specimen in its own weight class based on its stance, temperament and physical assets like wings, tails and comb. The walk or strut by an ornamental chicken in a beauty contest, much like a runway model, constitutes a large part of the scoring system. (Photo by Ernest Goh/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Suspension artist and LUSH Cosmetics employee Alice Newstead inspects shark hooks that she had pierced into her skin during a demonstration against the shark fin trade at a LUSH Cosmetic store on August 24, 2011 in San Francisco, California.

Hindu devotees, their cheeks pierced with metal rods, wait to participate in a religious procession during Thaipusam festival in Chennai, India, Tuesday, February 3, 2015. Thaipusam, celebrated in honor of Hindu god Lord Murugan, is an annual procession by Hindu devotees seeking blessings, fulfilling vows and offering thanks. (Photo by Arun Sankar K./AP Photo)

Laura Ford’s 1991 sculpture Twiglet has been installed at Thirsk Hall Sculpture Garden, North Yorkshire, UK in the last decade of April 2024. (Photo by James Glossop/The Times)

Actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley arrives at the LACMA Art + Gala at LACMA on October 27, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)

Female of pygmy hippopotamus called Malaya from Netherlands in zoo in Dvur Kralove nad Labem, Czech Republic, February 22, 2016. (Photo by David Tanecek/CTK via ZUMA Press)

In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, February 3, 2024, a Mi-28N “Night Hunter” helicopter gunship of the Russian air force fires rockets at a target at an unknown location in Ukraine. (Photo by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP Photo)

A woman poses for a picture taken by her friend (not in picture) in a temple decorated to celebrate Chinese New Year at Samut Prakan province outside Bangkok February 7, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)