Zoo Accused of Painting Donkeys Black and White to Look Like Zebras: It's 'Misleading and Unethical'

Mar. 15, 2025

Zebra in Kenya, Donkey in Riverside County, California.Photo:Getty

Getty

Sometimes things aren’t as black and white as they seem.

Azoo in Chinais going viral after social media users realized its zebras aren’t actually zebras — but rather donkeys painted to look like the animal.

The image andfootagefeature the animal with artificial stripes that mimic that of a zebra, standing next to what appears to be an employee at the Zibo City amusement park in the province of Shandong, per the outlets.

Stock image of donkeys painted in a zebra-like pattern at the Marah Land Zoo in 2009.AP Photo/Hatem Moussa

AP Photo/Hatem Moussa

According to bothThe Sunand thePost, staff at the amusement park defended the donkey paint job, calling the dye they used on the animals non-toxic. They also claimed that the move was a marketing decision.

“The owner did it just for fun,” a staff member said, per thePost, which cited a local tabloid, the state-runGlobal Times.The outlet also reported that the staff member claimed a sign on site also indicated the animal was a donkey and not a zebra.

Social media users, however, called the stunt “misleading and unethical” and “unfair to the animals,” according to Metro.

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The donkey-zebra switch up is not the first time a zoo has attempted to dress its animals up as a different species.

Back in September, Shanwei Zoo in China’s southern Guangdong province went viral forapparently painting a pair of Chow Chow dogsso they’d look like pandas.

The pups also gained traction on Douyin after a video went viral showing them in a zoo enclosure next to a sign that read “painted dogs.”

The location’s manager later confirmed that the animals were a top attraction, per CNN, which cited the state-affiliatedSichuan Observation.

Similarly, the Taizhou Zoo in China’s Jiangsu Provincealso attempted to transform its Chow Chows into its own “panda dogs” earlier in May.The zoo told Newsflare that it was denied the ability to house pandas, and the painted canines ended up becoming a popular attraction.

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After a zoo in Egypt was similarly accused of painting donkeys to look like zebras in 2018,PETA wrote on its websiteat the time that “no reputable animal-care facility would subject skittish animals like donkeys to the stress of being restrained and sprayed with chemicals like paint, which could cause a painful allergic reaction.”

“If roadside zoos wanted to prioritize animal welfare, they wouldn’t paint or breed animals,” the animal rights nonprofit continued.

“We’re urging everyone who cares about wildlife to support organizations that protect animals in their natural homes and avoid any facility that keeps them captive in order to turn a profit,” PETA added.

source: people.com