A Chinese zoo has come under scrutiny after admitting to painting donkeys black and white to look like zebras in a bid to increase tourist footfall, according to a report in the New York Post. The Zibo City amusement park in Shandong province caught the ire of Chinese social media users after they noticed that the donkeys looked rather odd.
One of the photos showed a zoo worker, standing next to a donkey that was painted with black and white stripes, running across its body. As the controversy snowballed, the zoo confirmed that dye was indeed used on the animals but insisted it was not toxic.
“The owner did it just for fun,” one of the staff members said, adding that a local zoo had previously gained attention by dressing a dog as a panda, and this was an attempt to replicate that promotional strategy.
Many are calling for stricter regulations to prevent such practices in the future.
“It’s unfair to the animals and the visitors,” said one user, while another added: “Why is it always China?”
A third commented: “They did a pretty bad job too.”
Watch: Outrage After China Zoo Paints Chow Chow Dogs To Look Like Tigers
Previous instance
This is not the first instance when a Chinese zoo has attempted to pull off a bait-and-switch scam. Last month, a zoo, located in Taizhou in the Jiangsu Province prompted itself on social media by colouring two dogs black and orange to resemble tigers.
“Our tigers are huge and very fierce!” the zoo claimed during a live on the ByteDance-owned app Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
After the video went viral, social media users pointed out that the creatures enclosed in wooden pens on the screen were not tigers, albeit two Chow Chow dogs who were painted bright orange with black stripes.
The zoo later confessed to local media outlets that the dogs were dyed as “a gimmick” before adding that there were no health risks associated with the move.
