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

The apparent animal dye job follows other instances of animals — including dogs and other donkeys — being passed off as other species at zoos

Getty Zebra in Kenya, Donkey in Riverside County, California

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

A zoo in China is going viral after social media users realized its zebras aren't actually zebras — but rather donkeys painted to look like the animal.

Images posted on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and later shared by multiple outlets including the U.S. Sun, The New York Post and Metro, show what appears to be a donkey with black-and-white stripes on its body.

The image and footage feature 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.

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

According to both The Sun and the Post, 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 the Post, which cited a local tabloid, the state-run Global 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 for apparently painting a pair of Chow Chow dogs so 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."

"We are called Panda Dogs, a pet dog that looks like a panda, dyed and dressed up by Chow Chow. We are gentle, smart, friendly, cute and adorable," the sign continued, CNN reported at the time.

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

"You can see by our name we are 'Strange Animals and Cute Pets Paradise,' " the employee said. "These are Chow Chow dogs being painted [as pandas], as this is part of our specialties."

Similarly, the Taizhou Zoo in China's Jiangsu Province also 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 website at 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.