‘Strange animals’: Chinese internet users ridicule and slam Guangdong zoo’s move to disguise dogs as pandas

SINGAPORE: A zoo in China has come under fire from outraged internet users after admitting that it had dyed a pair of fluffy chow chows black and white to resemble giant pandas. 

Some netizens also expressed bewilderment and amusement over the zoo’s “panda dogs”. 

The zoo in Shanwei city, located in China’s southern Guangdong province, is the latest in a long line of Chinese zoos that have courted criticism and public ridicule over the years for trying to pass off pets as wild animals. 

For some weeks, some netizens had raised suspicions on whether the animals on display were actual pandas, given that they looked and behaved like dogs as they were seen wagging their tails and panting in some videos.  

Given the intense scrutiny, a zoo representative acknowledged that the “pandas” were in fact chow chows that were dyed black and white. 

“You can see by our name we are ‘Strange Animals and Cute Pets Paradise,’” the representative told a television crew from the Sichuan Observer, a local Chinese media outlet, on Sep 16. 

“These are chow chow dogs being painted as pandas and are part of our specialties,” the representative said.  

That admission further set the Chinese internet alight, with many chiming in on the saga and sharing videos and photos they had taken with the animals.

“The panting and barking gave them away,” commented a blogger on a Weibo post that was shared more than 300 times. Other Weibo users shared their experiences visiting the zoo, and criticised the management’s decision to deceive visitors. “So when do animal conservation laws come into play,” wrote another user. 

The conversation continued on Douyin, where jokes and lighthearted videos were shared. 

In a Douyin video shared by a female user named Lin Yuyi who visited the zoo on Friday (Sep 20), she was seen excitedly stroking one of the chow chows through the bars of their enclosure. The dogs’ long wagging tails were spotted in her video.