A video on X announces the new “panda dog” attraction, as revealed today by British TV station Sky News.
Visitors bought tickets to see the new attraction. But when they arrived at Taizhou Zoo, in Jiangsu province, they came across chow chow dogs, with thick fur, painted with black and white paints, to give them the look of pandas.
According to Chinese state media outlet The Global Times, the lawyers said that “visitors inevitably felt disappointed and deceived when they discovered the truth” about the exhibition.
But a zoo official denied the allegations of false advertising and told the newspaper on Monday: “This is just a new attraction we are offering to visitors. We are not charging extra. The text for chow chow dogs is correct and describes exactly what they are, so we are not misleading our visitors.”
Per Jam Press, a zoo spokesperson also defended the panda exhibit saying, “People also dye their hair. Natural dye can be used on dogs if they have long hair. There are no pandas in the zoo.”
It’s not the first time a Chinese zoo has been accused of faking animals: in 2023, Hangzhou Zoo denied claims that some of its bears were people in costumes.
In July of that year, a clip of a Malaysian sun bear – named Angela – walking on its hind legs went viral and sparked speculation that the animal was a human in an ill-fitting bear suit.
At the time, a zoo staff member said on WeChat: “Our zoo is run by the government, so this kind of situation would not happen. The temperature in summer is almost 40 degrees, if you wear a leather suit you certainly won’t be able to go more than a few minutes without lying down.”
Other Chinese zoos have been accused of trying to pass off dogs with dyed and cut fur as wolves or African cats.
In 2010, a park in Zhengzhou, Henan province, purchased four dyed chow chows and a golden retriever dyed to look like a tiger from a pet market in Sichuan in an attempt to attract visitors, Reuters reported according to the local press.
In 2018, a zoo in Egypt denied painting donkeys to look like zebras.
