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.

With no pandas to put on display for the visitors, a zoo in China dyed two chow chow dogs black and white to pass them off as small pandas. 

While the zoo saw no harm in the decision and later defended it too, several visitors were reportedly shocked and outraged for being deceived after they saw two fluffy dogs painted black and white in the panda enclosure with a sign that read “panda dogs”. 

To boost attendance during the May Day holiday, Taizhou Zoo, in eastern China, advertised “panda dogs,” which turned out to be Chow Chows whose fur had been dyed black and white. pic.twitter.com/4iB8WNudo3

— Mike (@Doranimated) May 8, 2024

According to local reports, the incident happened in Taizhou Zoo in China’s Jiangsu Province that opened on May 1 for visitors to see the new animals.  

As per The Strait Times, a board was put up in front of the enclosure with a disclaimer that said the panda dogs are not an actual dog breed. It also said that they’re pet dogs groomed to look like pandas or were born with fur patterns like those of pandas.

A video of the two dogs has gone viral on social media. In the video, the two dogs, painted like pandas with the signature splash of black around eyes, can be seen taking a stroll in the enclosure and playing with each other. While their resemblance with small pandas is uncanny, their tails and mannerisms are a quick giveaway that they are in fact not the fluffy bears exclusively found in China. 

Defending their decision, the zoo reportedly said that they did so because they didn’t have a real panda to put on display for the visitors. “There are no panda bears at the zoo and we wanted to do this as a result,” a zoo spokesperson reportedly said. “People also dye their hair. Natural dye can be used on dogs if they have long fur,” the zoo spokesperson added.