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)

Performers from the Joles ethnic group in Gambia prepare to perform with sharp blades which they say will demonstrate the magic powers of a spiritual water, that will make them immune to the cuts, during a campaign rally by incumbent President Yahya Jammeh, leader of the APRC (The Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction) in Bikama on November 24, 2016. As electoral favorite Jammeh seeks his fifth term in power, a two-week campaign period will come to an end next week ahead of the December 1st presidential election with political leaders canvassing in rural areas. (Photo by Marco Longari/AFP Photo)

A woman carries her child as she watches Mount Sinabung volcano spewing thick volcanic ash, as seen from Karo on July 21, 2017. Sinabung roared back to life in 2010 for the first time in 400 years, after another period of inactivity it erupted once more in 2013, and has remained highly active since. (Photo by Gatha Ginting/AFP Photo)

Demonstrators react during a rally in support of legal and safe abortion and to mark the International Safe Abortion Day in Bogota, Colombia on September 28, 2021. (Photo by Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters)

A man pours fake fuel on the face of a protester as they perform at a demonstration against the fossil fuel industry during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 7, 2021. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

A woman dressed as a nurse sits next to Gerhard after a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination in a brothel in Vienna, Austria on November 8, 2021. (Photo by Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)

A bandana-clad anti-government demonstrator gestures as she stands by the smoke of burning tires at a make-shift roadblock in Zouk Mosbeh north of Lebanon's capital Beirut, on March 8, 2021 during a protest against the deteriorating value of the local currency and dire economic and social conditions. (Photo by Joseph Eid/AFP Photo)

A pedestrian waits for a bus in front of a “Living Wall” art project, produced in collaboration with The National Portrait Galler and the Earls Court Development Company, in west London on May 26, 2022. (Photo by Adrian Dennis/AFP Photo)