CHINA (WKRC) - Zoo patrons were left outraged after the pandas at an exhibit turned out to be painted Chow Chow dogs.
The New York Post uploaded video of the "panda" exhibit to the publication's official YouTube channel.
According to The Post, images of painted Chow Chow dogs at the Taizhou Zoo in China's Jiangsu Province have gone viral. The Taizhou Zoo's pandas were unveiled on May 1 and sparked outrage with many guests, who had come to see the beloved bears.
Per the publication, officials at the zoo reportedly trimmed the manes of the dogs and painted them to appear similar to the country's national treasure.
The sanctuary's staffers told The Post that the canines were put on display in an enclosure daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., which reportedly attracted tens of thousands of people from May 1 to May 5, per the U.S. Sun. According to the publication, when a zoo representative was asked why the dogs were painted to look like pandas, they replied, "There are no panda bears at the zoo and we wanted to do this as a result.”
Per the publication, several visitors accused the sanctuary of animal cruelty, which the zoo has denied.
Per the U.S. Sun, the zoo had placed a sign with pictures of "panda dogs" at the exhibit, instead of real pandas.
ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7zp%2Bdm52RqXy1rcizn6itXa%2B8sHnVopuep12lrrW%2BzqeqZqelqb%2Bis8SdZJqepJq%2FbrLApJxmqJGjsaK%2FjJqrZp2onbajtdNmp5qhnqmypXnCoaawZZOdvLh5w6ierGWanq6vs9KuZKmqn6u2r6%2FEZpqhoZ6Weq%2Bt06Kmp5mcYsGzscCsrKudXZi2r6%2FIp6WarJlitqS7zaKaZpmenrqiuNJmraKqkaF6qrnAoJysZaCesLXB0Z6qZpyVmLKxwMiopWaclZiyqsLE