A Chinese zoo has sparked fury after it painted dogs black and white and presented them as pandas.
A video shared on YouTube shows the puppies with black ears, limbs, and ears and with dark circles around their eyes.
Visitors said they became suspicious when the ‘pandas’ started panting in their enclosure.
When quizzed, the zoo admitted that they had dyed two Chow Chows, a type of spitz dog from northern China with a thick coat.
The zoo, however, has denied they misled people as they never claimed the dogs were pandas, explaining instead they were ‘panda dogs’.
Visitors said they became suspicious when the ‘pandas’ started panting in their enclosure
A video shared on YouTube shows the puppies with black ears, limbs, and ears and with dark circles around their eyes
The zoo has denied they misled people as they never claimed the dogs were pandas, explaining instead they were ‘panda dogs’
Visitors have since demanded their money back from the park in Guangdong Shanwei which says it is home to ‘rare and exotic animals’.
It comes after Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province also sparked fury in May when it too allegedly dyed two small Chow Chow dogs to look like pandas.
These dogs had their fur trimmed short before black and white dye was added to their face and body.
The attraction was quickly slammed by locals who accused the zoo of animal cruelty
The zoo defended showing the ‘panda dogs’ as they don’t have any of the actual animals for visitors to see.
The Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province, China revealed its latest attraction in May, an exhibit featuring two so-called ‘panda dogs’
The dogs had their fur trimmed short before black and white dye was added to their face and body
The zoo’s new residents drew a large crowd during their debut on May 1, but the attraction was quickly slammed by locals who accused the zoo of animal cruelty
A zoo spokesperson said at the time: ‘A lot of people are coming to visit them and you need to queue up.
‘There are no panda bears at the zoo and we wanted to do this as a result.
‘You can see them from between 8.30am and 5pm.’
The spokesperson also hit back at the cruelty accusations, saying: ‘People also dye their hair. Natural dye can be used on dogs if they have long fur.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
