'Pandas' exposed as painted dogs in this Chinese zoo; faces outrage and backlash

Visitors at the Shanwei Zoo in China were left stunned after discovering that the 'pandas' on display were not pandas at all, but dogs painted to resemble the iconic bears. The revelation came when one of the so-called 'pandas' began panting and barking, leading to widespread confusion and disbelief.

According to the reports, the zoo’s attempt to pass off dogs as pandas quickly backfired after video footage of the animals went viral.

The viral video showed one of the dogs, lying exhausted on a rock in a fenced-off area, panting heavily. Then appeared another 'panda' with a curly tail, just like dogs, and was seen strolling around, which clearly exposed the intention of the zoo officials. It took no time to decipher that the animals were, in fact, Chow Chows—a breed of dog native to Northern China—dyed black and white to mimic the appearance of pandas.
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Initially when the incident came to light, the officials at the Shanwei Zoo tried to claim that the animals were actually a breed of ‘panda dogs.’ People, however, did not buy that argument, and as outrage mounted, and more and more people demanded explanations, the zoo had to eventually admit that they had simply painted two Chow Chows to look like pandas. According to the officials, they did that to lure visitors. What followed as expected; visitors were angry and accused the zoo of false advertising, and had asked for refunds.

This incident is not the first of its kind. Earlier in May, a zoo in Jiangsu Province faced similar backlash for displaying painted Chow Chows as pandas. In that case, the zoo had also attempted to justify the stunt by claiming that they had clearly labelled the animals as ‘panda dogs.’

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The public’s reaction has been overwhelmingly negative, with many voicing concerns over the welfare of the dogs.

Even after all the commotion, zoo officials assured that the dogs were met with no harm, and that their hair was dyed just like humans colour their hair. However, this explanation did little to dampen public outrage, and many are demanding tighter rules to prevent similar deceptive acts in the future.