A CHINA zoo has been slammed for painting dogs to look like pandas in a bid to draw in crowds.
The rubbish dye job was quickly spotted before the Taizhou Zoo forced to admit the animals were chow chows instead.
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A picture of a ticket shared on social media included a snap of the "new species" as the zoo charged £2.25 to see them during China's Labour Day holiday.
Tens of thousands of people visited the "panda dogs" every day from May 1 to May 5, Chinese media Jiupai News reports.
Clips taken by visitors appeared to show the pups with black ears, limbs, and dark circles around their eyes, but their canine features were still very much apparent.
The dyed pets sparked a wave of complaints against Taizhou Zoo as furious visitors claimed they were mislead into believing they would see real pandas.
They also also questioned whether painting the pups would constitute animal abuse as some dyes might contain harmful chemicals.
Taizhou Zoo later admitted that the "fake pandas" were in fact dyed chow chow pups who debuted their new look for the national holiday.
But despite the the confusing name, the zoo didn't seem to be trying to fool guests into thinking the dogs were real pandas.
A signboard with pictures of "panda dogs" was put up at the zoo, indicating that the name is typically used to describe little dogs that, either naturally or by grooming, can resemble pandas.
A staff member said the zoo got the idea of dyeing the dogs into pandas online.
They told Jiangsu News: "This way, we will be able to add more fun into the zoo and boost footfall."
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The staff explained that the zoo's relatively limited size prevented it from housing real giant pandas.
As for dyeing the dogs, they also did not see any ethical concerns, saying: "Normal individuals also dye their hair.
"As such, if dogs grow out their hair, they could also dye it.
This is the same as human hair."
The employee went on to say that the zoo did not charge extra to visit the "panda dogs".
Tickets for adults cost 20 yuan (£2.25), while tickets for children who are taller than 1.4m cost 10 yuan (£1.12).
It comes after a black dog turned completely white due to a rare condition, leaving its owner stunned by the shocking transformation.
Buster, a cute four-year-old pup from Oklahoma, got his fur colour changed because of vitiligo, which affects both humans and animals.
The condition that famously affected Michael Jackson sees pale white patches developing on human skin.
Thankfully, vitiligo in pets is painless, and there is no indication that the dog is in any kind of pain or discomfort.
Similar patches started showing up across Buster's body in the space of two-and-a-half-years.
His owner, Matt Smith, sent Reddit users wild after he shared his dog's incredible colour-changing transformation.
One image shows Buster with his spiky black fur, followed by another in his backyard turned completely white.
Shocked users replied to the pictures, with some drawing comparisons with the King of Pop.