A Chinese zoo has been accused of trying to deceive its visitors by holding an exhibition of alleged baby pandas, Sky News reported.
Taizhou Zoo in the eastern Chinese city unveiled a new exhibit featuring “panda dogs” in early May. The price of such an attraction is 20 yuan or 2.57 EUR. per visitor.
However, it turns out that the animals were actually Chow Chow dogs that were painted in the colors of panda fur – black and white.
According to Chinese state media outlet The Global Times, the lawyers said, “Visitors will inevitably feel disappointed and cheated after learning the truth about the exhibition.”
However, a zoo employee denied the allegations of false advertising.
“The wording is correct and describes exactly who they are, so we’re not misleading our visitors,” the employee said.
A zoo spokesman also defended the panda exhibit.
“Natural dyes can be used on dogs if they have long fur. There are no pandas in the zoo, so we did it,” said the representative.
This is not the first time a Chinese zoo has been accused of animal tampering. in 2023 Hangzhou Zoo has denied claims that some of the bears were simply people in bear costumes.
