Dogs painted black and white to pass them off as pandas

A zoo in China is receiving flak after it painted chow chow dogs black and white to pass them off as pandas.

The Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu lacked the facilities to get pandas and decided to paint the dogs black and white as an alternative, local media reported.

Two chow chow dogs were then dyed and advertised as “panda dogs” in the exhibit on May 1.

While some praised the zoo administration for their creativity, others criticised the act accusing zoo officials of misleading visitors and mistreating the dogs.

Meanwhile, officials at the zoo refuted the reports that the dogs were harmed as a spokesperson said that the dying was done similar to how people dye their hair.

Read more: Watch: Gorilla named hero for saving three-year-old boy

“Dogs can dye their hair, too. It’s the same as hair,” a spokesperson said.

However, critics said that the practice could expose them to skin diseases due to their fragile skin and naturally thick coats.

Last year, a zoo in China made headlines after visitors raised suspicions that its sun bears were humans in disguise after footage of one animal standing like a person went viral.

Responding to the reports, Hangzhou Zoo said the animals were actually sun bears and not humans in costumes.

Hangzhou Zoo in a statement said: “Some people think I stand like a person… It seems you don’t understand me very well.”

“When it comes to bears, the first thing that comes to mind is a huge figure and astonishing power… But not all bears are behemoths and danger personified,” it added.