Watch | Dogs painted black and white at Chinese zoo to pass off as pandas

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A zoo in China has come under fire after the authorities painted two dogs black and white to resemble pandas. At the Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province, visitors were shocked to discover that the animals they saw in the panda enclosure were chow-chow dogs.

The fake pandas, unveiled on May 1, had their manes trimmed before they were dyed to resemble little pandas. They put the painted dogs on display between 8 am to 5 pm regularly and visitors flocked to see them.

When tourists realised they were looking at chow-chow dogs, there was widespread outrage, with activists criticising zoo authorities for animal cruelty and deception.

Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province dyed two chow chow puppies black and white and promoted them as so-called “panda dogs.” pic.twitter.com/Jo7q1dBzZJ

— Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) May 5, 2024

However, the zoo has defended its decision to place painted dogs instead of pandas.

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Responding to the backlash, a spokesperson for the zoo compared the act to people dyeing their hair, stating that natural dye can be used on dogs with long fur.

“There are no panda bears at the zoo and we wanted to do this as a result. People also dye their hair. Natural dye can be used on dogs if they have long fur,” he said.

This was not the first instance of an animal being passed off as another at a Chinese zoo. A similar incident occurred last year at Hangzhou Zoo, where visitors said that a human was made to wear the costume of a bear.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow