Is it a panda or is it a choc chow dog? China zoo causes chaos with doggy makeover. Photo / Getty Images
Dupes have been a problem since forever, but you’ve probably never seen a dog dressed up as a panda.
A zoo in China is currently under fire for painting dogs to look like pandas after not having a real one to show its visitors.
Read more: Face-to-face with a Panda in the wild
Jam Press reported that the bootleg pandas unveiled at the start of the month at the Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province were actually Chow Chow dogs — the big, fluffy, and friendly dog breed from Northern China.
Zoo officials have given the dogs a complete makeover - trimmed their manes and dyed them black to complete the panda get-up.
From 8am until sundown, these “panda dogs” are greeted by hundreds of people, fooled by their cuteness despite being the completely wrong species.
Many are bothered by the panda dupes, some raising concerns about animal cruelty due to dyeing the dogs’ fur.
In their defence, a rep from the zoo explained that the dye they used was natural and safe, ensuring a cruelty-free makeover to satisfy the visitor need to see pandas.
“People also dye their hair,” a spokesperson said. “Natural dye can be used on dogs if they have long fur.”
There are some, however, who are on board with these canines in disguise.
“They are very small to run that fast! I think they’re lovely,” a netizen said.
Others commented, “I think they’re cute,” and, “Well that’s an extreme way to get your dogs cared for while you’re at work lol.” [sic]
Over the past few years, there have been several sightings of “improvised wildlife” in zoos and enclosures, especially in China.
Last year, a Chinese zoo had to clarify that the sun bears in their enclosure were not “men in costumes” after a video of one standing on hind legs intrigued sceptics. The zookeepers explained that this behaviour is normal for Malaysian bears, which are around the size of a large dog or a small person when standing on their hind legs. Video clips went viral on Chinese social media networks, leading to the zoo publicly reassuring visitors that the bears were very much authentic.
Meanwhile, in 2019, a zoo in central China confused visitors who spotted a dog in an enclosure designated for wolves. A video shared online captured the moment, with a visitor commenting, “That’s a dog, not a wolf.” The zoo had to publicly clarify that the wolf was isolated from the pack due to behaviour problems, and the caretakers had to tend to his loneliness and introduced two puppies to the enclosure - hence the dog in the wolf’s home.
Other instances include a shelter in Cairo that was accused of painting donkeys to look like zebras in 2018, and a zoo in Guangxi province exhibiting blow-up plastic penguins.
Animal rights group Peta has condemned the practice of disguising animals to deceive the public as cruel and has continuously taken action to prevent animal cruelty in zoos and enclosures.
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